Resumen de Professional status of notaries and organisation of the notarial practice in Bulgaria

Ekaterina Mateeva

• This article explores the essential legal features of professional status of notaries as stipulated by The Notaries and Notarial Practice Act (NNPA), adopted by Bulgarian Parliament and promulgated in State Gazette (SG), No. 104 of 6th December 1996. This new legislation is designed to introduce the status of the �classical Latin notary�, who is an independent legal professional charged by the State with certain non-contentious judicial functions (authentication of transactions of real rights of ownership over real estates, wills, attestations, certifications of private documents etc.), appointed to a limited number of government-created posts and enjoying a high social and economic status. Special attention is paid also to the basic legal principles governing the organisation of notarial practice in Bulgaria. The last part of the article treats the requirements for the acquisition of capacity of a notary under current Bulgarian law.