Systemic Position of the Notary under the First Polish Law on Notaries of 27 October 1933. Part One
Systemic Position of the Notary under the First Polish Law on Notaries of 27 October 1933. Part One

Summary/Abstract: The origins of the modern Polish system of notaries date back to the period of the Polish Second Republic. At the end of World War I, the institution of notaries in Polish lands was heterogeneous. There were three separate notary organizations, which regulated differently the systemic position, tasks and functions of the notary. The rebirth of the Polish State brought the issue of unification of the system of notaries. Works on this ground-breaking task took place for several years and ended with the creation of the Law on Notaries of 27 October 1933. The article is intended to precisely determine the systemic position of the notary under the first Polish Law on Notaries. Article 1 of the Regulation defined notary as a public functionary appointed to draw up acts and documents to which the parties were obliged or wanted to give the public attestation and to carry out other acts as entrusted to him by law. Attempts to define the concept of a public official revealed numerous terminological problems and generated the need to conduct research on the issue of the notary’s position both in terms of scholarly reflection and dogmatic terms. In order to determine the systemic position of the notary, the article presents a detailed analysis of the term “public functionary” used in Article 1 of the Law on Notaries, views of the most eminent representatives of legal science in Poland on this subject and the scope of activities of the notary. The doubts and terminological difficulties identified in the course of these activities led to a deeper analysis of the provisions of Section I of the Law on Notaries, entitled “System of Notaries” (provisions of Chapters I–III) and of the case law. However, the attempt undertaken in the article to clearly define the position of the notary under the first Polish Law on Notaries did not bring a fully satisfactory result. The analysis of the position of the notary in the light of the Law on Notaries of 1933 indicates that there are serious difficulties in defining it precisely, both among the scholars in the field and the judicature. To fully define it, a closer analysis of the provisions of the Law on Notaries concerning the supervision of notaries, disciplinary and compensation liability of notaries, the professional self-government of notaries and the rules of preparation for the profession of notary was necessary. These issues have a significant impact on the final shape of the notary’s position within the legal system. Due to editorial limitations, these issues will be addressed in the second part of this article, along with final conclusions.

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