Election of Mr Pierre-Luc Vogel as President of the CNUE for 2019

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Pierre-Luc Vogel, a French notary, was elected today President of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE). Georgios Rouskas, a notary in Athens and President of the Greek notariat, was elected as incoming Vice-President. Pierre-Luc Vogel succeeds Marius Kohler, a German notary, and will officially take up his duties in January 2019 when the transfer of powers takes place in Paris.

Pierre-Luc Vogel declares :

A Europe that protects is a Europe that needs its notaries.

Pierre-Luc Vogel, aged 63, is a notary in Saint-Malo. He has been Vice-President of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) in 2018. He has also been President of the Association for the Development of the Notarial Service (ADSN) from 2016 to 2018. Previously, Pierre-Luc Vogel was President of the Conseil supérieur du notariat from 2014 to 2016, after having been its First Vice-President from 2012 to 2014 and Vice-President from 2010 to 2012.
He was also President of the Regional Council of Rennes from 2005 to 2007 and President of the Departmental Chamber of Ille-et-Vilaine from 2000 to 2002. Finally, he was a member of the steering group of the Démarche Qualité Notariale and, also, director of the École de Notariat of Rennes. Married and father of three children, he has been a notary in Saint-Malo since 1985. Pierre-Luc Vogel is a Knight of the Legion of Honour and of the National Order of Merit.

Launch of 3rd Edition of Notaries of Europe “Open Days”

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The 3rd edition of the Notaries of Europe Open Days opens on Monday 22 October. In 12 countries of the European Union, events will be organised for citizens and students: information sessions, conferences and free consultations at which several thousand people are expected. The second edition in 2017 attracted more than 20,000 participants

European Day of Justice

The Notaries of Europe Open Days are part of the European Day of Justice, an initiative of the European Commission and the Council of Europe that takes place every year around 25 October. Its objective is to bring justice closer to citizens, inform them about their rights and promote the work of the Council of Europe and the European Commission in the field of justice.

> Consult the Council of Europe website for more information and a list of events

CNUE-European Commission Conference on Family Law

Among the proposed events, the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) and the European Commission are jointly organising a conference on 23 October in Brussels on the two new European regulations on matrimonial property regimes and the property consequences of registered partnerships. These regulations will become applicable on 29 January 2019. The conference will enable more than 250 practitioners to learn about and exchange views on their content.

> More informations

Authentic-acts.eu

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The Notaries of Europe opened a new information website today for the general public:: “Authentic acts in Europe“ – www.authentic-acts.eu. Produced with financial support from the European Commission (2014-2017 Justice Programme of the European Union) and support from the European Notarial Network , this website provides information on the evidentiary value of authentic acts drawn up in the 22 countries of the European Union familiar with notarial practice in matters of succession and family law. This information is available in English, French and the language of the country concerned.

Facilitating access to the law: a commitment by the Notaries of Europe

Making justice more efficient in Europe is a priority objective for Notaries of Europe. That is why they provide European citizens with resources that enable them to learn more about their rights. As a result of their joint work, the following websites inform thousands of citizens every year:

• “Successions Europe” website: www.successions-europe.eu

• “Couples in Europe” website: www.couples-europe.eu

• “Buying property in Europe” website: www.jachetemonlogement.eu

• “The Vulnerable in Europe” website: www.the-vulnerable.eu

Drawing up authentic acts: the notary’s mission

With the Authentic Acts in Europe website, the Notaries of Europe wish to make the general public aware of the essence of their function: to confer authenticity on the legal instruments and contracts they draw up for their clients. Notaries perform this task on behalf of the State, which grants them the status of public office-holder. Like court decisions, authentic acts are enforceable, enabling the contracting parties to have obligations enforced directly without having to go before a court. Moreover, unlike private agreements, authentic acts have a superior evidentiary value which is binding on the courts, the administration and third parties.

The Notaries of Europe are ready for more digitalization in company law

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On 25 April 2018, the European Commission published two legislative proposals for European company law as part of its EU Company law upgraded Package. The proposals promote digital solutions throughout a company’s lifecycle and establish a comprehensive legal framework for cross-border transformations, introducing for the first time European rules on cross-border conversions and divisions.

The Notaries of Europe welcome the European Commission’s general approach to implement digitalization in company law without disruption by allowing Member States to build upon already existing, well-established systems of preventive control also in the digital age.

The Notaries of Europe appreciate that the proposal for a directive on digital tools in company law expressly recognizes the role of the notary to guarantee legal certainty and to prevent abuse in company law in today’s increasingly digitalized world. Notaries provide comprehensive legal advice and carry out a preventive legal control throughout a company’s lifecycle which ensures that companies are effectively set up, that their articles of association are tailored to the specific needs and requests of the founders and that subsequent structural changes during a company’s lifecycle are legally valid. Furthermore, the reliable identification of shareholders and directors by the notary allows businesses as well as governmental authorities to efficiently and reliably determine who stands behind a company and who can represent it in relation to third parties. In consequence, the data and information filed by the notary with the company register and displayed there for public information is reliable and can therefore be vested with public faith. At the same time, the abuse of corporate entities for illegal purposes such as money laundering and tax evasion is effectively prevented.

Dr. Marius Kohler, president du CNUE, states :

Building upon electronic procedures already in place for the interaction between notaries and company registers in many Member States, the Notaries of Europe are ready to perform their tasks also by digital means and will take the necessary steps to allow the fully online incorporation and registration of limited liability companies.

The Notaries of Europe believe that the European Commission’s proposal on cross-border mobility will make it easier for European companies to merge, divide or transfer their registered office across national borders within the EU, provided that the operation is not artificial or abusive and that the interests of stakeholders (shareholders, creditors and employees) are sufficiently protected. The Notaries of Europe therefore welcome that the proposal expressly aims at promoting cross-border mobility of companies for genuine business purposes whilst, at the same time, calling for strong safeguards to protect the rights and interests of shareholders, creditors and employees. C.N.U.E will thoroughly analyze now whether the proposed safeguards are sufficiently waterproof or whether they still have loopholes that need to be closed by the European legislator during the legislative process.

Dr. Marius Kohler, president du CNUE, concludes :

We feel that the European Commission’s proposals on company law offer a good starting point to adapt company law to the needs of businesses, consumers and governmental authorities in today’s increasingly digitalized world. We look forward to a constructive dialogue between the stakeholders and the European institutions in the upcoming legislative process to reach the best solutions for European citizens and enterprises.

Invitation to tender for web design, development and maintenance services

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Organisational Context

The CNUE – Council of the Notariats of the EU ASBL (Association sans but lucratif – non-profit organisation) under Belgian law is calling for tenders for the provision of web design, development and maintenance services.

The CNUE is supported by its members gathered in a Steering Committee for the purpose of this project, which is co-financed by the European Commission DG Justice and Consumers (Justice Action Grant – Proposal Number 766448 – Proposal Acronym: FAN plus).

Web design, development and maintenance services

The main objective is to modernise the Find a Notary website Find a Notary to make it more accessible and user-friendly for any EU citizen. This goal can be achieved by offering new functionalities and a technical update, including:
– Make the tool compatible with mobile devices
– Facilitate access for people with disabilities
– Identify and implement a geolocalisation tool
– Create a “contact-a-notary” form
– Modernise the mechanism for securing data
– Give more visibility to notaries’ language
– Provide an option for special qualifications
– Explore the simplification of the upload procedure
– Integrate other resources into the webpage
– Integrate the modernised layout and rebranding of the website
– Organise a training of the national contact points: 22 partners have to regularly update the national information in order to ensure a smooth and responsive tool for the users

The selection criteria include the assessment of:

– The candidate profile in terms of relevant skills, professional qualifications, reliability, ability to meet the deadline and previous experience/knowledge of similar website solutions, including the ability to provide references for previous work undertaken for similar project
– The conformity of the proposed solutions to the technical specifications and details on how you would approach our requirement
– Value for money and demonstration thereof
Tender documentation, including technical specifications and selection criteria, are available for download here below.

Deadline for technical proposal and relative quote

Kindly send your technical proposal and relative quote to P.Bruge@cnue.be within Friday 23rd March.
The tender opened on Friday 16th February and closes on Friday 23rd March at midnight.
A question round is taking place from Friday 16th February  until Friday 9th March. 

All questions must be addressed in writing to P.Bruge@cnue.be 
The questions and their relative answers will be shared with all the declared candidates.

> Download descriptions for web design, development and maintenance services

Marius Kohler is new President of notaries of Europe

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The 40,000 notaries of Europe and their 200,000 employees have a new President for 2018, Dr. Marius Kohler, a German notary from Hamburg. In a ceremony held today in the presence of the acting German Federal Minister of Justice and for Consumer Protection Heiko Maas, Dr. Kohler took over the reins of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE). He succeeds Spanish notary José Manuel García Collantes.

Professional background

Dr. Marius Kohler has been practising as a notary in Hamburg since 2011. He studied law at the Universities of Freiburg (Germany), Uppsala (Sweden) and Harvard (United States). During and after his studies, he worked as a research assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and at the Institute for German and Foreign Civil Procedure Law at the University of Freiburg. After passing the bar examination at the Supreme Court of New York and practising as a lawyer at the international law firm GLEISS LUTZ in Stuttgart and Frankfurt, he was appointed candidate notary in 2006. Between October 2007 and December 2010, he headed the Brussels office of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries.

Work Programme

Significant milestones await the CNUE in 2018, including the publication by the European Commission of a series of legislative proposals in the area of company law aimed at providing for digital solutions throughout the company lifecycle and facilitating the cross-border mobility of companies. The CNUE’s role will be to offer constructive support when it comes to transferring the current well-functioning corporate procedures into the electronic world building on the existing infrastructure so as to preserve the reliability of business registers and the underlying structures of corporate law.

2018 will also be devoted to training notaries on the new European regulations on matrimonial property regimes and the property consequences of registered partnerships, which will enter into force in 17 EU Member States as of 29 January 2019. The CNUE intends to organise a series of cross-border training seminars building on the successful “Notaries for Europe, Europe for Notaries” programme put into place for the European Succession Regulation with the support of the European Commission between 2013 and 2017.
Finally, the CNUE will also pay particular attention to the various notary-related information tools available to the general public. In particular, work will begin shortly on a complete overhaul of the European Directory of Notaries (www.notaries-directory.eu) and a new website will be put online on the probative force of authentic instruments used in the 22 countries of the European Union with a Latin type notariat.e type latin.

> For more information on the German Presidency of the CNUE and its programme

> Consult the CNUE’s 2017 Annual Report at the following link