Notary System Reform

Notarization is a legal system since ancient times. It first appeared in the West in ancient Roman Republic. The notary system in real term started in the Republic of China and had witnessed great progress since the founding of People's Republic of China. Since the late nineties, with the accelerated development of economy and society, the existing notary system can not meet the need of the demand, giving rise to the central government's reform to perfect the notary system. After several years' experiment with development in certain degrees, and due to the fact that in-depth research on notary system is still scarce, the reform system has not been in pace with the national conditions. The reform of notary has met with set-backs, stagnation and decreased credibility of notary system, causing great challenge for the survival and development of notary institutions.This paper gives an in-depth analysis both from theory and practice on basis of the characteristics of notary system and its feature in China, trying to find out a more clear-cut and suitable reform roadmap. In the respect of theory, the focal point combines the theories of public product and governmental indirect management, with special innovative analysis of the organizational style and setup of notary public. In the respect of practice, on top of international comparative research, the key point is based on the case of notary reform in Wenzhou. It gives an in-depth analysis of the most direct and practical questions arising from the experience and findings of Wenzhou's notary reform.On this basis, the paper integrates the relevant law, management theory and the notary practice of China in general, and Wenzhou in particular, put forward the following 4 viewpoints as regards the more central questions of notary reform. 1) the current notary establishment should be standardized with notary agency system, 2) the organizational mode of notary establishment should be unified, in which the public service entity fully funded by the government being the most appropriate for the current situation, 3) the setup of notary public should be more efficient to avoid overlapping functions of supervising authorities, and 4) notary system should be further established, and by utilizing the unique function of notary, ensure a healthy and long-term development of notary public.