Law notaries since the General Council in its session of 28 November 1996 has approved the following: law notaries preamble the figure of the notary public is deeply rooted in the legal history of our country, and dates back to the second Pareatge of 6 December 1288. The adaptation of institutions to the constitutional framework required, in the same year, 1993, the enactment of the qualified law of righteousness in which he made a reference to the subsequent need to adapt the Statute of Notaries.

This law is intended to define and regulate the function of the notary as a legal professional invested public function in accordance with the tradition of Andorra and subject to the constitutional principles of legality, of legal certainty and responsibility of public authorities.

Establishes that the notaries enjoy autonomy in the exercise of their duties notwithstanding that in its hierarchical organization reporting to the Ministry you have attributed the competences in matters of Justice.

The law provides for the compensation of the notaries in the form of fees and also establishes his performance as a coadjuvadors of the State in the collection of the tax burdens on documented legal acts that future laws can fix. All with the aim of letting the public clearly defined mission of the notarial function.

At the same time, it ratifies the public ownership of the protocols as will as manifested by the General Council in the agreement of December 20, 1900.

The law regulates the number of notaries and the way of recruitment through the public procedure of contest-opposition. It also creates a corporate body, the Chamber of Notaries, as a professional body that will serve as a basis for their organisation and discipline.

Finally, it creates the General archive of Protocols and the Central Register of provisions of last will by the Chamber of Notaries. Temporarily entrusts the notaries control of loads and mortgages through the annotation at the margin of the corresponding titles of property.

Title i. Of notaries and notarial function Article 1 Definition 1. The notary is the legal professional invested public function in accordance with the legal provisions in force has the authority to attest contracts and other extrajudicial acts, preserve them in protocols and issue copies.

2. the notaries enjoy full autonomy and independence in the exercise of their functions, without prejudice to their dependence of the Ministry you have attributed the competences in matters of Justice.

3. As a notary public, in the sphere of fixed facts with accuracy what you as a notary public voice, listening and perceived by your senses. In the sphere of law fixes the authenticity and power burden of the willingness of the parties in the public document drawn up in accordance with the law.

Article 2 Function 1. Is a function of notary public: a) attest to all public acts and contracts authorized by him under the form of a public instrument, subject to the requirements of this law and subsidiary to the habit.

b) Advise and advise to the licensors on the legal means more accurate for the achievement of the purposes that are illicit who wish to achieve.

2. The notary pays their duties on equal terms for all parties involved in the document so that all have a fair knowledge of its contents and of their respective positions.

3. The notary draws up the public instrument in accordance with the common desire of licensors, which must be interpreted and adapted to the legal system, and will inform the grantor of the value and scope of writing. The notary should attend especially to the grantor need.

4. The notary, in authorized scripts and usually in deferred and take part in stamp duty, will have to contribute without perceiving remuneration for work in the operations of collection of tax burdens to legislative route come to settle on the stamp duty.

Article 3 Scope of action and forcing the service 1. The field of competèncial performance of notaries extends throughout the national territory.

2. The authorization of public instruments is mandatory for notaries. The notary is required cannot deny his intervention except for justified cause.

3. notaries refuse the authorisation: a) when, in their judgment, someone of licensors is lacking the legal capacity necessary for the grant;

b) when the representation that invoke who appears acting on behalf of natural or legal third person, is not legitimately accredited or not applicable by law;

c) when the Act or contract you have to authorize it, in whole or in part, contrary to the law in force.

4. The refusal of a notary to provide their trades, without justified cause or carrying out acts contrary to this law gives the interested party to formulate demand jurisdiction in claims for damages and responsibilities in front of the administrative section of the Council.

In the same way the person deemed aggrieved by refusal will be able to ask for and get with urgent, a legal declaration that required the notary to give the Act by which it was required.

The procedure will be the preferential and urgent, and regulated by law.

5. Notaries must maintain professional secrecy with regard to all facts and news from all over order of which they had knowledge in the exercise of its functions.

Article 4 Causes of abstention Are notaries may not authorize public instruments when any of his relative directly or online grantor is collateral to the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity or who, despite being given by third parties, contain any provision in your favor or in favor of the parents mentioned.

Neither can authorize public instruments in which a grantor is a commercial society in which participation have relatives in the same lines and degrees than in the previous paragraph.

Article 5 Fees 1. The services of notaries are remunerated in the form of fees. Notary fees are approved by the Government on the proposal, not binding of the Chamber of Notaries.

2. The notary may not receive any amount to advice or configuration of the Act or business, the documentation of which authorises.

Title II. Of the public instruments Article 6 General requirements 1. In all public instrument must include: the name of the notary authorising, on behalf of the grantor-appearing and testimonials-, your nationality, residence and


address, your civil status and in your case the marriage regime, the place and the date of the grant and also the time when the case of wills, when a legal provision override it or when the parties so request.

2. The notary certifies the knowledge of appearing.

When they are not personally known to the notary, must state that has identified and by which means.

3. The public instruments are given in one and the same Act, with the simultaneous presence of the notary public and appearing to intervene. In the case of requirements or other events that do not require the unit to act, the notary will expressly state the place and date of each one of the different manifestations, statements or actions.

4. The public instruments are written in a readable and clear, without blank spaces or intervals, cut off lines or sections of line that are not written and the back of each of the sheets, when you write to one side.

5. The instrument is signed, in the end, all appearing and by the notary, with its sign and seal.

When one of the appearing does not know or can not signed, the notary makes mention of such circumstances.

6. In the public document cannot be passed stripes, or scrapes it or deletions, nor any other alteration. The amounts, amounts and dates, when directly affect the content of the contract, they have to express themselves, at least in letters. It is the overload, the line spacing and the addition of words in the body of the letter. Additions and corrections are made at the margin or move at the end of the instrument and are saved with the signature of all appearing and the notary. The words that should be deleted are signalled so that they are legible.

Article 7 language of the grant 1. Public instruments will produce in the Catalan language. When any of the grantor does not understand this language, the notary may authorize the instrument if you know the one that talks about the signing, all stating that he has translated verbally the document to this language and that the grantor has found himself in accordance with his will.

2. In the event that the notary does not know the foreign language known by the grantor or when this request a written translation in a foreign language, the authorization of the public instrument, requires the assistance of a translator, interpreter, translation terms in writing that it will incorporate necessarily at the instrument.

Article 8 Witnesses 1. Notaries can authorize the public instruments without the need for instrumental witnesses, unless you request the parties or one of them does not know or can not sign up or in the case of wills.

2. May not be witnesses are unable to, those who have been convicted of crime of counterfeiting or false testimony, relatives of the licensors in direct line and collateral up to fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity, the relatives of the notary in the same grades, or their employees.

Article 9 Infringement of requirements the instruments that had been allowed in infringement of the provisions of the preceding three articles, four, six, seven and eight, do not acquire the quality of public instrument, without prejudice to produce effects such as private documents. The notary authorising incur responsibility and will have to compensate the damages that would have caused its lack.

Article 10 the original 1. The instrument is allowed in a single copy or array that is under the custody of the notary authorising and integrated in your protocol. The parties receive copies delivered by the notary.

2. The notary public in the instruments correlatively numbered in chronological order of their authorization and incorporates your current protocol.

3. The arrays they cannot get out of the archive of the notary public, except by court order, only dictate when is essential to examine the original and the examination cannot take place in situ. In such a case, before you drill down of the protocol the original instrument, the notary in a literal copy that will replace up to be reinstated.

Article 11 the protocol 1. Notarial protocol includes the original set of public instruments authorized by a notary in the course of a calendar year.

2. The notary reconnects annually the protocol of the previous year in volumes that collect the tools sorted according to their numbers and that have numbered correlatively also all the pages. At the end of the last volume incorporates the index of the year.

3. The notary protocols belong to the State. Notaries are retained, in accordance with the established laws, under his own responsibility.

4. The protocols with more than 25 years form part of the General archive of Protocols. Each notary custody the protocols of the past 25 years and during the month of January should be transferred to the General archive of Protocols, the corresponding protocol.

Excepts are public instruments relating to wills that still have not been open; These instruments are incorporated immediately in the General archive of Protocols after their opening.

5. The protocol of the notary who removed his Office is under the custody of his successor. For as long as it doesn't take possession the successor, the Chamber of Notaries designated immediately one of their members to take over provisionally for the custody of the protocol.

6. In the event of death of a notary, the Mayor of Guard has the seal of the notary protocols for up and both the Chamber of Notaries do not designate one of its members to make it charge provisionally within the period of 3 working days.

7. in case of removal of a notary protocols are issued immediately of the General archive of Protocols.

Article 12 index Control During the first week of each month, the notaries presented to Mayor-President an index, in double copy, authorized instruments during the previous month, which is the protocol number, the date, the names of the grantor parts, the object of the Act or the contract and the number of pages, so that it is sealed and stamped. Preserved a copy and place the other on the Chamber of Notaries.

Article 13 Copies 1. They are considered public writing the original or matrix and their copies delivered with the formalities of law.

2. The copies is headed with the protocol number of the matrix and the reproduced literally. The notary can also deliver partial copies and certificates of the facts entered in the instrument.

3. The copies are sealed and rubricades by the notary that delivered on all their planes and they are, in the end, his signature, sign and seal.

Article 14 delivery of copies and certificates 1. Only have the right to obtain copies and certificates of


public instruments are those who have a legal interest in the grantor, and causahavents of others. The notary does not deliver copies or exhibit the original instruments to any other person, unless there is a court order.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, in the life of the grantor does not deliver copies of wills. You can rid a photocopy, but only to the grantor or the person credited with special power.

3. Copies of a public instrument can only deliver the notary that is responsible for the protocol where the instrument. The notary is noted, in note on the original instrument or array, copies that pound.

Of the protocols that are in the General archive of Protocols can deliver copies all notaries exercents in Andorra.

4. Against the refusal of the notary public to hand over any copies before the Chamber of Notaries, which exhausts the previous administrative.

Title III. Of the organisation of the notaries Article 15 number of notaries the number of notaries in fixes the Government depending on the needs of the country for the proper provision of the service with a minimum of 4 notaries and a maximum limit of a notary for every 10,000 inhabitants.

Article 16 Requirements in order to be a notary is required: Andorran nationality, have over twenty-five years, does not have a criminal record because of crime dolòs, be entitled in law and have passed the examination of sufficient technical fitness and training.

Article 17 Incompatibilities the Office of a notary is incompatible with any other public office, elective or appointment is with any commercial, industrial or professional activity, with the exercise of the legal profession and, in general, with positions or functions of all order in companies or business corporations, whether public or private, in Andorra or abroad.

Article 18 Recruitment 1. The recruitment of notaries is done, by agreement of the Government, among people who meet the requirements listed in the preceding article 16 and the public procedure of contest-opposition.

2. The Government takes care of calling the opposition and to set up the Court that graded the tests.

3. The Committee will prepare and practice the contest-opposition will be formed by the President of the Higher Court of Andorra, who will preside over; by a judge of the High Court appointed by lot; and three other lawyers, appointed by the Government, which do not have or have had any political or administrative responsibility in Andorra or have not exercised the legal profession and the judiciary in Andorra.

4. Once made and classified evidence, the Court will make public the list of approved opponents in order of qualification.

5. In the event of a vacancy or keep some of the places offered, is not to have been passed the tests of fitness or for any other reason, we will not be launching any new contest-opposition until it has passed the period of one year from the announcement in which the vacancy occurred.

Article 19 Appointment 1. In accordance with the qualification of the evidence the Government appoints notaries. Take up the post after being given an oath or promise in front of the head of Government, with the following formula: "I swear (or promise) comply faithfully my functions in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, give public faith in a straight line, with complete impartiality, and keep the secret of the facts and news known in the exercise of my duties."

2. the notaries recorded their signature and sign the Ministry you have attributed the competences in matters of Justice.

3. notaries are constant in his post: resignation, for imposition of capital punishment, principal or accessory, opt for the Office, for suspension or separation of the charge as a penalty for a foul in the corresponding disciplinary record, imposed very serious to incur any grounds of incompatibility or disability and retirement on reaching the age of sixty-five years.

Title IV. The Chamber of Notaries Article 20 Constitution creates the Chamber of Notaries in the belonging of trade all notaries practising in the Principality of Andorra.

Between them and by most elected the President.

Article 21 Functions of the Chamber 1. The Chamber of Notaries has the following functions: a) to write and apply its internal rules of operation and of self-financing and regulate ethics and discipline of the profession.

b) to establish and implement the regulations of duty shifts and procedures for sufficient coverage of the service in the event of absences, disabled or vacation.

c) to ensure the application of the scale of fees remuneradors.

d) bring the Central Register of provisions of last will and RID certifications.

e) Lead and organize the General archive of Protocols.

2. The above rules and internal regulations are subject to the prior approval of the Government.

Article 22 delivery Shift is set to part of the House a cast among the notaries documents involving directly or by proxy, or contracts by which they acquire rights or obligations, public or semi-public entities.

First transitional provision the two notaries today in the exercise are confirmed in their posts, subject to the provisions of the present law.

In the case of being affected by the retirement age stipulated in this law, will remain in the exercise of their functions until it is made, within a maximum period of one year, the notary that have to replace.

Second transitional provision The notary protocols constituted prior to the entry into force of this law, are the property of the State without prejudice to continue under the custody of the same notary and in accordance with the provisions of article 11.

Third transitional provision for as long as it is not create a central register of charges and mortgages, the submitted original apart from the notaries or dies the constituted and delivered the relevant certifications at the request of authorised person or of the judicial authority.

Fourth transitional provision the Chamber of Notaries to referred to in article 20 shall be constituted at the time in which the number of notaries in the exercise in the Principality of Andorra to arrive, at least, to four. The first meeting will be held within thirty days from the inauguration of the fourth notary, to call for that to get more years in the exercise.

Within a maximum period of one year from the date of entry into force of this law should be made up of the Chamber of Notaries.

In the event that the first contest-opposition has not achieved the minimum number of notaries fixed to the article


15, execpcionalment will be launching a second contest-opposition within a period of 3 months.

First final provision creates the General archive of Protocols, the Organization and custody of which will be in charge of the Chamber of Notaries.

Within a period of six months from the date of entry into force of the present law, the Government approved the regulation.

Second final provision creates the Central Register of provisions of last will by the Chamber of Notaries. Within a period of six months from the date of entry into force of the present law, the Government approved the regulation. You have to sign up in this record the wills given to the rectors of parishes.

Third final provision the protocols with a seniority of more than 100 years, considering its cultural and historical value, are transferred to their custody and preservation of the national historical archive.

During the month of January, the Chamber of Notaries transferred to National historical archive, the corresponding protocols.

The fourth final provision the Government will approve a uniform model of notarial seal.

Fifth final provision empowers the Government to develop the regulations those aspects of this law that requires for its proper operation.

Within a period of six months from the publication of this law in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Andorra, the Government will establish the notary fees apply.

A sixth final provision this law, which derogates all how many previous customs or object to its content, will come into force on the date of its publication in the official bulletin of the Principality of Andorra.

Casa de la Vall, 28 November 1996 Josep Dallerès Codina, General Syndic Us the co-princes the sancionem and promulguem and let's get the publication in the official bulletin of the Principality of Andorra.

Jacques Chirac Joan Marti Alanis, President of the French Republic the Bishop of Urgell Co-prince of Andorra Co-prince of Andorra