Ministry of Justice to strengthen discipline of notary profession

The Bureau of Public Legal Services Administration of the Ministry of Justice and the China Notary Association have jointly released a guideline on strengthening the discipline of the notary profession and the connection between administrative punishments and the profession's self-disciplinary measures.

The guideline urges notary associations to effectively perform their duty of imposing disciplinary measures on notary offices and individual notaries in order to enhance the profession's self-discipline management. 

It requires judicial administrative organs to supervise and give guidance to notary associations as to how to discipline rule-breaking notary offices and notaries. 

Notaries who violate laws or the profession's rules shall, in principle, be disciplined by notary associations before being subject to administrative punishments imposed by judicial administrative authorities, according to the guideline

Meanwhile, the guideline stresses the need to improve the connection between administrative punishments and notary associations' disciplinary measures, calling for an appropriate work division and an efficient information sharing mechanism.

It makes clear that notary associations must report to judicial administrative authorities within five work days from the day their disciplinary measures go into effect, and that judicial administrative authorities must also notify notary associations within five work days from the day their administrative punishments come into force.