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Chapter Law Content

Title: The Notary Act CH
Category: Judicial Yuan(司法院)
Chapter One : General Provisions
Article 1
Notarial acts shall be performed by notaries serving in the courts(hereinafter referred to as "court notaries") or by notaries who operate their own offices (hereinafter referred to as "civil notaries").
All district courts and their branches shall set up a notary division. If necessary, additional branches of the notary division may be established at appropriate premises within the jurisdiction of each district court.
Civil notary offices shall be established within the jurisdiction of the district courts to which they are registered, or its branches of such district courts and in locations assigned by the Judicial Yuan.
Article 2
Notaries have the authority to notarize juristic acts and facts related to private rights upon the application of directly related parties or other indirectly related persons. They also have the authority to attest private documents.
Notaries may also attest the following documents upon the application of directly related parties or other indirectly related persons:
1. Official documents in their original form that involve facts related to private rights and where the applicants indicate the documents will be used overseas.
2. The transcriptions or photocopies of official or private documents.
Article 3
The applications mentioned in Article 2 may be oral or in writing.
The notarization or attestation applications shall be signed by applicants or their agents. If applications are made orally, the notaries, their clerks, or assistants shall transcribe the oral applications into written forms and sign the records, prior to having the applicants or their agents sign the records themselves.
"The Law Governing Non-Contentious Matters” shall apply mutatis mutandis to determine the format of the written applications or transcriptions mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
Article 4
Notarization or attestation applications may be made by the applicants' agents. However, this will not apply when there are statutory restrictions or due to the specific nature of the matter.
Article 5
Notarized documents shall be written in Chinese unless, at the request of the parties, they be written in foreign languages.
In the event the notarized documents were written in Chinese, necessary notations in a foreign language may be included, or a translation in a foreign language may be attached when necessary.
The notaries making notarized documents in a foreign language, or attesting foreign translation of documents, shall have their proficiency in the foreign language approved by the Judicial Yuan.
Article 6
The parties or other related persons, unless otherwise provided by law, may request notaries of any regions to make notarial deeds or deeds of attestation.
Article 7
Notaries shall perform their duties within the jurisdiction of the district court or its branches to which they are registered. However, in emergency circumstances, or due to the nature of the matter, it appears necessary for the notaries to perform their duties outside their jurisdiction, the above restriction shall not apply.
Notarized or attested documents made in violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall remain valid.
Article 8
Notarial affairs shall be carried out at the notary divisions of the courts or the civil notary offices. However, if a statute otherwise requires, or due to the nature of the matters, it is deemed inappropriate for the notaries to perform their duties at the notary divisions of the courts or the civil notary offices, or under necessary circumstances, the above restriction shall not apply.
The processing time of notarial affairs shall be in accordance with legal provisions. However, if necessity so prescribes, such provisions may not apply.
Article 9
Notaries, when signing in their capacity as notary, shall indicate their title and the court to which they are registered. Civil notaries shall indicate the location of their office.
Article 10
Notaries that encounter any of the following situations may not perform their duties:
1. When the notary is a related party to the applicant, or has a personal interest in the applied matter.
2. When the notary’s spouse, former spouse, prospective spouse, relatives up to the fourth degree, cohabiting head of the notary’s household, or household members is an applicant, agents of an applicant, or is related to the applied matter. Whenever the familial relationship extinguishes, the restriction still applies.
3. When the notary acts as the applicant’s or his/her agent’s legal representative.
4. When the notary acted, for the matter applied, as an agent or an assistant.
Article 11
Documents drafted by notaries that do not possess the elements prescribed by this Act or other statutes, shall have no legal effects.
Documents drafted by notaries who should not perform their duties according to this Act, shall have no legal effects.
Article 12
Notaries, in the course of performing notarial affairs, may when necessary, inquire of relevant agencies, organizations or individuals and may request their assistance.
The above provision also applies to foreign agencies, organizations or individuals.
Article 13
Parties requesting from a notary the making of a notarial deed for any of the following juristic acts, insofar as the notarial deed specifies its immediate enforceability, shall enforce it accordingly:
1. When the subject matter of the deed is the payment of a sum of money, other fungible things, or valuable securities of a specific amount.
2. When the subject matter of the deed is the delivery of a specific personal property.
3. When the subject matter of the deed is the lease or making the use of buildings or other works, whenever there is a fixed term and the building or work the possession of which shall be returned by the expiration of the term.
4. When the subject matter of the deed is the lease or making the use of pieces of land, for the purpose of non-farming or building, when at the expiration of the term, the possession of the piece of land shall be returned.
In addition to all parties, the notarial deeds mentioned in the preceding paragraph after their making , are binding on a person who becomes a party's successor and who possesses the object for the parties or their successors.
If the debtors, their successors, or persons who possesses the object claim that there are reasons for the notarial deeds, referred in the first paragraph, not to be enforced and file a lawsuit, the court in charge may suspend the enforcement proceeding due to necessary circumstances. Alternatively, if the claimants state that they are willing to provide security, the court shall decide a proper amount and shall suspend the enforcement proceeding.
Article 14
Notaries, their clerks, and assistants, unless otherwise provided by law, shall keep confidential of the matters they have handled.
Article 15
Notaries shall not refuse the applications of their applicants without legitimate reasons .
Notaries who refuse the applications may do so orally or in writing. When the applicant requests the reasons be stated, the notary must provide the applicant with legitimate reasons n in writing.
Article 16
Applicants or interested persons, who consider that a notary has illegally or improperly conducted notarial affairs, may raise an objection.
Notaries, who find the objection to be justified, shall within three days take appropriate remedy. Notaries who find the objection to be unjustified shall, within three days, submit a report to the district court or its branch to which they are registered. The court shall provide a ruling within five days.
Article 17
If the court finds the objection to be justified, it shall order the notary to take appropriate remedy. If the court finds the objection to be unjustified, it must dismiss the request.
The ruling shall mention the reason, and be served to the notary, the claimant, and any related party.
The ruling mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article may be appealed within ten days. Only one appeal is permitted.
Unless otherwise provided by this law, the Law Governing Non-Contentious Matters shall apply mutatis mutandis to the appeal.
Article 18
The original of the notarial deeds drafted by the notary, as well as the notarial deeds’ ancillary documents or attested deeds’ transcriptions, photocopies and other Journal of Notarial Acts to be prepared under law, shall be preserved within the notary division or the civil notary office and may not leave the premises. However, by a court order or decision of relevant authorities in accordance with legal access regulations or to avoid incidents, such documents may be carried out of the premises.
In the event, according to the preceding paragraph, the documents were to leave the premises, the notary shall prepare and retain a photocopy of the documents.
The Judicial Yuan shall further prescribe the rules regarding the preservation or destruction of documents or records under the first paragraph.
Article 19
All amount of money or value mentioned under this statute shall be expressed in New Taiwan Dollars (hereinafter "NTD").
Article 20
All orders of fines pronounced under this Act may serve as legal title for compulsory enforcement.
Article 21
Notarial affairs, unless otherwise provided by this Act, the Law Governing Non-Contentious Matters shall be applicable mutatis mutandis. For those issues that are not governed by the Law Governing Non-Contentious Matters, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure shall be applicable mutatis mutandis.