Positive externalities of the European Notarial Network: CNN study on the benefits of notarial functions presented at pmr oecd workshop
By Giovanni Liotta (ENN coordinator)

On 18-19 of November 2021 took place the OECD workshop on Regulatory Barriers to Competition in Professional Services with the aim to share technical contributions on the PMR indicator and the theory of regulation with a variety of stakeholders and experts.

CNUE and UINL, in several circumstances, underlined that notaries have to be considered, as also defined by the EU legislation, part of the administration of Justice. It was therefore emphasised the profound difference with all other professions analysed by the PMR and the lack of adaptability of this OECD indicator to the notarial services.

In order to actively participate to the PMR technical discussion, the Italian notariat (CNN) - after passing the OECD peer review – presented an extensive study explaining the nature of the notarial services and the utility of the “ex ante” legal control. The study was prepared by Antonio Cappiello whose researches were mentioned as significant contributions to the World Bank EoDB index and to the theory of composite indicators. Developments of his research were also presented, among others, at th e GLEA (German Law&Economics Association), the NOeG (Austrian Economic Association) and the HSE (Higher School of Economics of Moscow). In fact, since 2013, the Italian Notariat always keeps an active forum through the expertise of a group of notaries with know-how on notarial issues and socio-economic implications. One of the output of the CNN working group was a wide-ranging study, also published as EXCAS Working paper, showing the better performances of countries adopting civil law notaries in the real estate transactions. The important findings of this working paper were also recalled in the study presented at the OECD workshop.

The comprehensive analysis presented by Cappiello at the OECD PMR workshop included not only the Italian features of the notarial system but also an aggregated assessment of the characteristics of all the civil law notary countries analysed by the OECD.

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The author of the study, Antonio Cappiello, is the national interlocutor for Italy of the European Notarial Network. Since its origins, the European Notarial Network represents a forum of discussion and a centre of knowledge where the representatives of each notariat exchange their experience in order to improve the functioning of the notarial profession and keep the pace with the new challenges of the development of the society. As coordinator of the ENN, together with all the other EU notariats, we always supported the analysis of the notarial functions also through the adoption of the instruments of economic assessment and logical frameworks. The ENN and the "Europe for Notaries, Notaries for Europe" training programme represented a useful exercise to test this approach (i.e. seminars in Milan, Bucharest, Malta, Vilnius, Riga, Thessaloniki and Catania). During the meetings and seminars, all the ENN interlocutors had the possibility to exchange their knowledge creating a permanent hub of ideas on the European Notariat. It is thus clearer why we believe that ENN is a centre of knowledge with long-run effects: in the end the accumulated knowledge and experience reward all the efforts in terms of studies and training initiatives.

CNN Study – “OECD PMR indicators for professional services. Are civil law notaries different?

The Bulgarian Chamber of Notaries is pleased to invite the notaries of Europe to the seminar "Protection of Vulnerable Adults in Europe" which will be held via the Zoom platform on 17 November 2021. The event will analyse the legal framework for the protection of vulnerable adults not only at European level but also at national level in a comparative perspective.

This seminar will be an excellent opportunity for notaries to learn from key speakers from different EU countries who will share their experience and provide different perspectives on the issue. Notaries from the 22 Latin law countries of the EU are therefore invited to take part in the discussion and reflection on the legal tools to ensure the highest level of protection for vulnerable adults.

Click here for registration

• AGENDA ENN 17 November 2021 Seminar.pdf

Mastering a foreign language and its legal terminology is important and should form part of the continuous training of legal practitioners. It is a precondition to effective contacts across Member States, which are in turn the cornerstone for judicial cooperation. It is essential that all stakeholders pay attention to training on legal terminology of foreign languages. There are many resources available online that are of great use to notaries.

The European Judicial Training Network (EJTN) provides a handbook, which is a compilation of the most relevant training materials used in EJTN courses on judicial cooperation in civil matters. Definitions, exercises and real-life case reviews make this handbook an invaluable practical resource:
https://www.ejtn.eu/MRDDocuments/Civil_Linguistics_Handbook_ENG_2016.pdf

The Academy of European Law provides an online training course “Legal English for Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters”:
https://www.era-comm.eu/interactive_language_training/e_learning/story_html5.html

Finally, on the European Commission's e-justice portal, you can find a linguistic manual “English for Mediation in Cross-Border Civil and Commercial Matters”. It is developed by Prof Eva Samaniego Fernández, including language exercises on legal terminology:
https://e-justice.europa.eu/european-training-platform/search-training-materials/english-mediation-cross-border-civil-and-commercial-matters_en