Over the past few years, comprehensive reforms in all spheres under the slogan "the welfare of the people is our main goal" have been carried out in our country. The following article is devoted to the reforms implemented in the notary system of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the shortest period of time, in particular, the achievements in the field of "digitalization of the notary sphere and remote registration of notarial actions for the benefit of the population", which is currently considered one of the most pressing issues for notaries around the world.

The First Stage Of Reforms In The Field Of Notary Introduction

The state program "Strategy actions in five priority areas of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021 years" plays an important role in shaping the image of the new Uzbekistan.

The "Strategy of Action" envisages the improving the system of state and public construction, the ensuring of the rule of law and further reforming of the judicial system, the economic development and liberalization, the development of the social area, as well as the reform of the notary sector.

The establishment of notaries engaged in private practice in Uzbekistan from 2020 confirms that the tasks set out in the Strategy of Action have been fulfilled in practice.

Today, consistent measures are being taken to reform the notarial system, prevention of litigation in court, to form it as one of the important institutions ensuring the rights of individuals and legal entities.

Initially, a number of systemic problems and shortcomings in the settlement of economic, family, succession, housing, employment and other civil relations that preclude the full potential of the institution of the notariat were identified, and a strong legal framework and a strong strategic vision were developed to ensure public policy in the judicial and legal sphere.

A Decision That Changed The Field Of Notary

In order to increase the role and importance of the notarial institution, as well as improve the quality of notarial services provided to the population, the President signed a resolution on May 25, 2018 “On measures to further improve the notarial system as an institution for conflict prevention”.

According to the decision, an active model of notary, that is administrative regulations for cooperation with government agencies and organizations in the approval of agreements by notaries on the principle of "single window" with the help of information technology, an automated information system "Notary" has been set up to enable the exchange of necessary information in electronic format.

A mechanism has been introduced to make signatures of applicants confirming that they have performed notarial deeds by scanning their fingerprints. The internship period for candidates for the position of notary has been reduced from two years to one year, and the practice of real-time audio and video broadcasting of the selection process of candidates for the position of notary has been introduced.

Notaries' curricula, retraining and professional development programs have included classes and skills in psychology and non-legal subjects (stress management, conflict management, effective time management).

Increased Guarantee Of Non-Violation The Law

Registration of all notarial deeds in the automated information system "Notary" served to increase guarantees of observance of the legislation in the performance of notarial deeds and enabled online monitoring of notarial deeds by means of information technologies.

Moreover, this system allowed for remote control over the quality and efficiency of notarial services all over the country, notary office employees' performance of their functional duties, detection and prevention of notarial deeds inconsistent with the regulations and taking measures for their prevention, including taking adequate measures in respect of notaries violating regulations.

As Before, The Waiting List Left In History

Another opportunity created for citizens was the establishment of an electronic queue. Now, before going to the notary, our citizens have the opportunity to register in the electronic queue on the website "e-notarius.uz" and go to the notary at the appointed time. This has had a positive effect on reducing queues and inconveniences for citizens.

In order to protect the property rights of legal entities and individuals, the property responsibilities of notaries have also been defined. At the same time, the law establishes that in the cases of property damage caused to individuals and legal entities as a result of notarial deeds, the notary is responsible for the commitments himself, i.e. with his own property.

Meantime, the insurance of civil liability of notaries has been strengthened as a mandatory requirement.

These are the first stage of reform in the notarial system.

The Second Phase Of Reforms In The Field Of Notary

The second stage of reforms in the notarial sphere began with the signing of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 5816 "On measures to radically reform the notarial system in the Republic of Uzbekistan."

One of the important aspects of the second stage is that on May 1, 2020, the notary sector was removed from the state system and transformed into a non-governmental system, and the system of notaries engaged in private practice began to operate in Uzbekistan.

Some Notarial Activities Have Been Abolished

For the convenience of individuals and legal entities, the followings have been abolished:

the procedure for the notary certification of powers of attorney with the right to drive vehicles, between close relatives;

the procedure for requiring the consent of the local authorities for the sale of incomplete housing;

procedure for requiring the consent of the authority of guardianship and trusteeship, the rules of compulsory certification of contracts of lease, free use of enterprise, leasing and mortgaging of property in the primary market were abolished.

The abolished notary deeds were replaced by new ones, such as provision of evidence, the mediation service in property and inheritance matters, and certification of the time of submission of objects of copyright and other related rights.

A System Of Exterritorial Service Delivery Has Been Established

A system has been instituted to allow most notary deeds to be performed on the principle of extraterritoriality.

Accordingly, individuals and legal entities, regardless of their place of residence, have the opportunity to register notarial deeds in any area.

The possibility of remote certification of some notarial deeds through videoconferencing appeared, conditions for obtaining copies of documents available in the notarial archive through the single interactive state services portal have been created.

It is remarkable that the implementation of these mechanisms serves to eliminate excessive queuing, save time and reduce costs, access of the population to quality notarial services, to create a free competitive environment in the field, and also to prevent excessive bureaucracy and corruption.

Establishment Of The Notary Chamber Of The Republic Of Uzbekistan

Another important aspect of the second stage of reforms in the field of notary is the establishment of the Notary Chamber of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Notary Chamber of Uzbekistan was founded at the beginning of 2020 and is still operating satisfactorily today. Currently, territorial branches of the Notary Chamber operate in every region of the country.

More than 950 notaries engaged in private practice are currently functioning in the country. All of them are members of the Notary Chamber.

One of the main functions of the Notary Chamber is to coordinate the activities of notaries engaged in private practice, to represent and protect their rights and interests, as well as to improve the legislation and law enforcement practice in the field of notariat.

Strengthening the role of notaries, raising the prestige of the notary profession, take measures to ensure a single notarial practice, development of guidelines for notarial deeds, monitoring the observance of the legislation on notaries, the rules of professional ethics by notaries, the cooperation with the relevant state authorities and administration, non-governmental non-profit organizations on issues of notarial activities are the functions of the Notary Chamber.

The Notary Chamber within the scope of its duty shall hire notary trainees in order to ensure the impartiality and transparency of decisions accepted for notaries. Additionally, when taking a qualifying exam from candidates, the Notary Chamber has been directly involved in obtaining qualification examinations from candidates, and also in applying enforcement measures to notaries to suspend and terminate their licenses.

Electronic Notarial System

Today, when information technologies are actively and universally used in all spheres of public life to create convenient conditions for the population, the issue of digitalization of the notary sphere is no exception.

One of the important requirements of today is the digitization of each industry and the introduction of modern information technologies in the industry. Therefore, studying the international experience, Uzbekistan has created an automated information system "Notary" and fully digitized the field of notaries. More than 30 different government agencies have been integrated into the system.

In addition, "E-notary" website has been created in order to search for and register notaries for the population, whether the power of attorney is valid or not, determine whether the inheritance has been opened or not, make it easier for them to know the list of documents required for notarization and to be aware of the amount of payment.

Meanwhile, the setting up by the Chamber of Notaries of its own website "notarialpalata.uz" or "np.uz" enabled the public to learn about the reforms under way in Uzbekistan in the field of notariat and the work of the Notary Chamber, as well as to familiarize themselves with the necessary legislative acts.

"Notary Consultation"

One of the important tasks of the Notary Chamber is to further raise the legal awareness of the population and provide them with legal advice. In this regard, the channel and pages "Notary's consultation" have been created on Facebook and Telegram social networks, through which the population is provided 24/7 with free legal explanations in the field of notariat and answers to their questions.

In addition, the Notary Chamber has launched the publication of the newspaper "Notary's consultation". Various articles in Uzbek, Russian and English on notarial and other areas of law, and regularly case studies in the field of notary and the other spheres of jurisprudence are published in the newspaper.

Notaries have prepared more than 2000 various videos related to the notary sphere and posted them on social networks, online broadcasts on radio and shows on television have been organized, legislation in the field of notaries was prepared in the form of an "audiobook" and distributed to notaries and people.

International And Local Cooperation Is Expanding

The Notary Chamber is working on the establishment and development of international relations. As of today, Memorandums of cooperation were signed with organizations in notary sphere of Germany, France, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Hungary, Mongolia and Brazil.

A close bilateral cooperative relationship has been established with the Association of Notaries of China and active efforts are being made to further strengthening the mutually beneficial cooperation. The Chinese notary system is regarded as one of the developed systems among the world's leading countries and is of great significance to the economic, political, social and cultural life of the country.

The Notary Chamber of Uzbekistan took an active part in web symposiums of European and Asian notariats and made presentations.

Within the framework of the Memoranda, with the participation of representatives of the Notary Chambers of Italy, France, Germany, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Hungary online conferences were conducted for notaries on: "Mediation", "Electronic Notary", "Provision of Evidence by Notaries", "Prospects for Development and Improvement of Notariat", "Notary, Practice, Current Issues" and others.

One of the main aims of the Uzbek notariat is not only to study foreign experience, but also to promote and widely disseminate Uzbekistan's notarial practices internationally.

On this regard, articles about notary system of Uzbekistan have been published in more than 20 newspapers, magazines and websites in countries such as the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Oman, Lithuania, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and others.  

The experience of Uzbekistan in the field of notary was closely studied by the delegations of France, Germany, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Vietnam during the visit of these countries to our country.

The Chamber of Notaries pays special attention in its work to cooperation not only externally, but also internally with the State organizations and departments.

In particular, memorandums of cooperation were signed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Department on Combating Economic Crimes,  the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement, the Agency for Information and Communications, the Cadastral Agency, the Inspection on the control of agro-industrial complex, the Tashkent State University of Law, Samarkand State University named after Sharof Rashidov, the Lawyers Training Center, the Chamber of  Lawyers, the Chamber for the Protection of Copyright of Artists, Creators and Performers, the national movement "Yuksalish", NGO "Madad" and others. Above 500 training seminars and events have been held within the framework of these memorandums.

The First Step To The International Community

On December 3, 2021 the Chamber of Notaries of Uzbekistan became the 91st member of the International Union of Notaries.

A ceremony to officially inaugurate the Uzbek Notary as the 91st member of the International Union of Notaries was held at the 30th International Congress of Notaries in Cancun, Mexico.

The success of the Uzbek Notary has become a source of pride for all notaries of New Uzbekistan and for all the people of Uzbekistan.

It should be noted that this is a high assessment of the notarial system of Uzbekistan, its revolutionary activity in a very short period of time, confirming that its legislation in the field of notaries fully complies with international standards.

The main function of the International Union of Notaries is to coordinate, improve and assist in the definition of tasks of notaries around the world.

Membership in the International Union of Notaries allowed Uzbekistan, firstly, to work side by side with notary systems of developed countries, cooperate with them on an equal and mutually beneficial basis, jointly analyze the actual practice, exchange experience in areas of interest to all partner countries, and work out solutions for common problems.

In particular, in 2022 the delegation of Uzbekistan took part with its presentation in the meeting of the General Council of the International Union of Notaries held in Germany, attended a meeting of the General Assembly of the International Union of Notaries and the 30th International Congress of Notaries held in Cancun Mexico. They also took an active part in the Second Central Asian International Notaries Conference held in Kazakhstan and the 118th Congress of Notaries of France, in the VI Congress of Notaries of the Russian Federation. In 2023, again, they attended General Council and Commission on International Notarial Cooperation in Benin, the meeting of the UINL Commission on Asian Affairs and the International Seminar in Indonesia, the International Dialogue of Legal Systems and the 650th anniversary of the first Law of Scrivener Notaries in the United Kingdom. Besides, they also attended the meeting of the Heads of Notary Chambers of Turkic-speaking countries in Turkey, and the meeting of the General Assembly and General Meeting of Member Notariats of the International Union of Notaries in Brazil.

Two Uzbek notaries participated in a practice-based training for English-speaking notaries in Germany, four other Uzbek notaries, took part in an internship in Minsk, Belarus, organized within the framework of the CIS Member States' Basic Organization, three Uzbek notary became a student of the World Notariat University, thirty Uzbek notaries completed traineeships in Moscow and St. Petersburg city (Russia).

The practice of Uzbekistan in implementing the digital notary concept has already served as an example and a guide for many countries.

The selection of a representative of the Uzbek notariat as a member of the Commission on International Notarial Cooperation (CCNI) of the International Union of Notaries. According to the decision of the Commission on Asian Affairs of the UINL, the Chairman of the Notary Chamber of Uzbekistan was elected as a President of the Commission on Asian Affairs for 2024.

On 10-11 October 2023, in the historic city of Samarkand was held an international conference of the UINL Commission on International Notarial Cooperation on "Money laundering prevention in notarial practice" and an international conference of the Notary Chamber of Uzbekistan on "Notariat in the digital age".

There were 250 representatives from 33 countries attended the conferences.

With regard to international relations, the Uzbek notariat always remains faithful to its principles of friendship, mutual understanding and mutually beneficial co-operation in the field of notariat, and is always open to exchange of information and experience.