The Cabinet approved a bill aimed at reforming the notarial service and ensuring its independence. Under the bill, the license for carrying out notarial activity will be issued by the Ministry of Justice within 15 days of the submission of the application for 450 lei. A notary will stop work in case of a relevant request, death, withdrawal of license or when reaching 65, IPN reports.

The document envisions the creation of the Notarial Chamber as a self-managing body representing the profession. It will have a supreme body – the General Assembly of Notaries that will elect the members of the Council and the chairman and will approve the budget, the status and the Deontological Code of Notaries. There will also be an executive body – the Chamber’s Council.

To ensure the independence of notaries and to increase the quality of the provided notarial services, the supervision duties will be divided between the Notarial Chamber and the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry will inspect the notaries and will promote the policies in the field. A Licensing Commission and a Disciplinary Board will be set up under the Ministry of Justice to monitor the quality of the provided public service.

The bill is to be passed by Parliament.