Notaries in Europe – Growing Fields of Competence

With the emergence of a European legal culture within the European Union, the impact of its policy on the legal system of the Member States becomes more perceptible, in particular also in the core fields of notarial activity. Hence, the European Union is becoming a driving force for the development of a European notarial profile. This publication is the attempt of an appraisal of the notarial tasks within the justice system of selected Central European countries. In it a piece of regional European legal culture is mirrored, which constitutes the fundament that unites legal practitioniers in the notarial field of these countries. During the Austrian presidency of the Cooperation of Central European Civil Law Notaries (CCEN) the need became evident to document the tasks and activities of the notaries on a comparative basis. This offers opportunities not only for information about commonalities and individual rules, but also to learn from each other about potentials of development and thereby to contribute to the growing fields of competence of notaries with the European Union.