Serbia gets notaries - Public notaries to help increase citizens’ legal security

Minister of Justice Snezana Malovic stated today (June 16, 2010) that the introduction of public notaries in Serbia’s legal system will relieve some of the burden of the courts and increase their efficiency, as well as improve citizens’ legal security.

Opening a public debate on a working version of the law on public notaries at the Palace of Serbia, Malovic announced that the law will be forwarded to the parliament for adoption this autumn and will most likely be implemented as of next year.

This reform law will facilitate the achievement of certain goals from the Judicial Reform Strategy and Serbia’s policy of EU accession, eventually enabling Serbian citizens to exercise their rights in an efficient and quality manner, Malovic outlined.

The Minister noted that the introduction of public notaries will create possibilities for courts to operate more efficiently and provide better legal protection for citizens, all of which are imperatives of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which Serbia is trying to respect and implement consistently.

Malovic underlined that the primary benefit from the introduction of public notaries for the state and citizens will be better legal security, adding that the state will save considerable funds in the budget by reducing court expenses.

The Minister said that the public notary will be a new judicial occupation in the legal system of Serbia and explained that the new law will transfer certain powers to public notaries.

She noted that public notaries will be in charge of agreements on life-long care, property relations between spouses, wills, sale of retail estates and issuance of certificates.

Professor Dragor Hiber, Professor of the Law School at the Union University Vesna Rakic-Vodinelic and Professor of the Law School at the University of Belgrade Mirko Vasiljevic also participated in the discussion.

Ministarstvo pravde Republike Srbije

Narodna skupština Republike Srbije

Pravni fakultet Univerziteta Union Beograd

Pravni fakultet Beograd

Justice Ministry

Snežana Malović

public notary

notary

Law on public notaries

Parliament of Serbia

European Convention on Human Rights

life long care

ownership relations

Dragor Hiber

Law School

Union University

Vesna Rakić Vodinelić

Law School Belgrade

Mirko Vasiljević

life long care agreement

will

writing will