A Career as a Notary — Exam, Appointment, Dismissal

The status of a notary and professional independence

A notary is free in their professional activity and, through notarial and other related actions, exercises state authority on the basis of this law and other legal acts. When performing notarial acts the notary is independent and impartial; the activity is subject to the procedure and limits established by Georgian legislation and is not entrepreneurship or a source of profit. The remuneration paid to a notary for official activity belongs to the notary, and the notary is the employer of the staff of their notarial bureau. A notary is liable for damage caused by official activity — the state bears no liability for damage caused by a notary. The disciplinary liability of a notary is determined by provisions that the Minister of Justice approves upon the proposal of the Notaries Chamber of Georgia. A notary is also obliged to fulfil the duties established by the Georgian law on facilitating the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and by the relevant normative acts. It is also important that a notary is not a public servant.

Conditions for taking office as a notary

The office of notary may be taken by a capable citizen of Georgia who has a higher legal education, has passed the notaries qualification examination and satisfies one of the following conditions:

• has completed an internship under a program determined by the Notaries Chamber of Georgia;
• has at least 1 year of work experience as a notary;
• has at least 5 years of work experience as a notary's assistant;
• has at least 5 years of work experience in the specialty in public service, including public-law legal entities — except activity in cultural, educational, scientific, research, sports and religious entities, membership-based entities, and the category of public-law legal entities defined by legislation.

The qualification examination, competition and appointment

The notaries qualification examination (testing) comprises two stages — a professional part and general skills (verbal and mathematical parts). A person is released from the obligation to take the professional part if they have passed the judicial qualification examination in general law or in civil and administrative law, or have held the office of judge, and not more than 2 years have passed since passing that examination or since dismissal from the judicial office before taking the notaries qualification examination, or if they currently hold judicial office.

A notary is appointed to office by the Minister of Justice, who, upon appointment, indicates as the location of the notarial bureau a settlement designated by law. The office may be taken by any natural person who satisfies the established requirements and passes a competition; the procedure and conditions for holding the competition are approved by the Minister of Justice. A candidate submits an application to the Ministry of Justice, accompanied by documents confirming the circumstances of the conditions and by a document signed by the applicant confirming the absence of grounds for refusal of appointment.

Grounds for refusal of appointment

A person will not be appointed as a notary if they do not satisfy the established requirements or fail the competition. In addition, the grounds for refusal are:

• the person has been convicted of an intentional crime, or criminal prosecution for an intentional crime is being conducted against them;
• the person has been convicted of a crime directly related to notarial activity, regardless of the expungement or annulment of the conviction;
• the criminal case on an intentional crime has been terminated due to the lapse of time or amnesty;
• the person was dismissed from public service and/or their membership of the Georgian Bar Association was terminated for a disciplinary offense, a gross or repeated violation of law, use of official position to the detriment of justice and service interests, or a corrupt violation of law;
• the person was dismissed from the office of notary for committing a disciplinary offense;
• the person does not satisfy the requirements of incompatibility with the office;
• the person was deprived of the right to notarial activity by a court conviction that has entered into legal force;
• notary positions are filled for the given year in accordance with the maximum number of notary positions determined by the Minister of Justice;
• the person refuses to carry out notarial activity in the settlement designated by law.

Registration in the notaries register and suspension of the right to activity

Within 2 months of appointment to office, the notary submits to the Notaries Chamber of Georgia the official seal and a specimen of signature verified in the manner established by legislation; a document confirming compulsory professional insurance; and a document on the possession or ownership of a notarial bureau equipped in accordance with the rules established by the instruction on the procedure for performing notarial acts.

The right to notarial activity is suspended if: the notary violated the requirement concerning the equipment of the notarial bureau — in which case the notary must ensure compliance within a reasonable period, but not more than 10 days; the notary committed an offense under the provisions on notaries' disciplinary liability that entails suspension of the right to notarial activity; or the notary, as an accused, has been remanded for criminal liability — in which case the right is suspended until a final decision is rendered on the criminal case.

Grounds for dismissal from office

The authority of a notary terminates upon dismissal from office. The grounds for dismissal are:

• a written statement of the notary on dismissal from office, submitted to the Minister of Justice;
• attainment of the maximum age of holding the office of notary;
• the notary's death, recognition by a court as having limited legal capacity or as missing, declaration of death, or recognition as a recipient of support, unless a court decision provides otherwise;
• commission of an offense under the provisions on notaries' disciplinary liability that entails dismissal from office;
• a state of health that precludes proper performance of official duty;
• entry into legal force of a court conviction of the notary for an intentional crime, or termination of the criminal case on an intentional crime due to the lapse of time or amnesty;
• termination of the notary's Georgian citizenship;
• deprivation of the right to notarial activity by a court conviction that has entered into legal force;
• engaging in activity incompatible with the office of notary;
• failure to fulfil the requirements concerning the bureau within the established period;
• cessation of notarial activity in the settlement designated in the manner established by law.

The notarial bureau, candidacy and internship

A notary must have a notarial bureau, which is their workplace and whose location the notary chooses in compliance with the conditions established by law. The notary is entitled to hire and dismiss persons in accordance with Georgian labour legislation and to dispose of the income received from performing notarial acts. Two or more notaries may have a common notarial bureau; the rights and duties of the notaries with regard to it are determined by a contract concluded between them, and each notary performs notarial acts in their own name and is personally liable for their activity. A common bureau may also be created in the form of an entrepreneurial legal entity, except a joint-stock company; in that case the firm name must contain the name of at least one partner notary, and the partner notary is jointly and severally liable with the legal entity for damage caused as a result of notarial acts; a notary may not be a person employed in such an entity under an employment contract. With the consent of the Ministry of Justice, a common bureau may be created together with an advocate, a private bailiff, an interpreter and/or an auditor; for this purpose a service improvement plan and a draft agreement between the partners are submitted to the Ministry, and the consent needed for registration is communicated to the National Agency of the Public Registry. The basic criteria for evaluating the service improvement plan, other matters connected with the organization of notarial activity, and the guarantees of a notary's independence are determined by an order of the Minister of Justice.

A candidate for notary office may be a citizen of Georgia who has a higher legal education and for whom no fact confirming unsuitability for work as a notary is known. A person who wishes to become a candidate must pass an intern competition; a person who has the corresponding work experience — as a notary, as a notary's assistant, or in the specialty in public service — is released from the internship. Where the intern competition is successfully passed, the Notaries Chamber of Georgia sends the person to the internship and informs the Ministry of Justice accordingly. The internship means training under a program determined by the Chamber at the training centre attached to the Chamber; it consists of two stages and covers theoretical and practical parts. The fee payable to the Chamber for completing both stages of the internship is determined by a resolution of the Government of Georgia, and the procedure for completing the internship is approved by the Minister of Justice upon the proposal of the Chamber. The internship is terminated on the intern's personal application or for systematic non-performance or improper performance of the duties assigned to the intern.