The Importance of Notaries for the Legal System of Society

Abstract

The paper analyzes the position of the notarial system as an independent element of the legal system of Russian society. The author examines the conditions under which the legal foundations of the modern notary model were formed, as well as the factors contributing to the development of this model. The content and target orientation of notary functions in relation to the legal system of the society are revealed. For example, transformations that occurred in Russia in the late 20th century, reveal the possibilities of notaries, the opposing processes and phenomena that disrupt the legal system of society. In the context of the study, the author also addresses the regulatory capabilities of notaries, which contribute to the preservation of the legal system of society. The paper reveals the adaptive capabilities of the notarial system in the conditions of changing legal space and unfavorable sanitary and epidemiological situation. At the same time, the paper focuses on the mechanisms allowing for the notary to ensure the stability of civil turnover, contributing to the establishment of the rule of law. The paper considers legislation on notaries aimed at expanding opportunities for citizens and businesses by adding new rules to the fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries, adopted by the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation on 11 February 1993 № 4462-1 (as amended December 30, 2020). In particular, there are possibilities of remote access to a notary for performing notarial actions, remote certification of transactions involving two or more notaries, acceptance by a notary for safe storage of electronic documents of participants in civil turnover, placement of machine-readable markings (QR-code) on a paper document, identification of the applicant by a notary through biometrics in notary offices. It is concluded that there is a high importance of the notarial institution and its functions for the legal system of society.