On the 17th November 2022, the Official Gazette of the General Courts published the Draft law on the digitization of notarial and registry actions, thanks to which important changes are to be introduced into our legal system.
The most notable changes are:
- Creation of the digital archive of the Notary’s offices. Currently the archive, called “Protocol”, is a set of books ordered by dates, which is kept by each Notary. If the proposed reform goes ahead, these Protocols will become the property of the State, and its form of archiving will be, in addition to the paper copy, digital. A new digital system will be implemented, and digital copies of Deeds will be used from now on. This will speed up the slow and obsolete system of issuing paper copies.
- Certain deeds may be granted by videoconference without having to physically go to the Notary:
- Commercial policies (“polizas”).
- The incorporation of companies, Powers of Attorney, as well as the granting of some other corporate decisions.
- The Court Powers of Attorney.
- The revocation of Powers of Attorney, except preventive ones.
- Payment letters and cancellations of guarantees such as mortgage terminations.
- The minutes of general meetings.
- Testimonies of signatures.
- Wills in a situation of declared epidemic for the duration of the confinement.
- The declarations of new constructions and division of horizontal property.
- Online filing will be available at the Land Registry, Companies House and others. This will lead to computerized, paperless processing, with great cost savings and streamlining.
- The online registration of companies’ incorporation (when using standardized Bylaws and Articles of Association), will be happen in six working hours from the day following the entry. That is, if it is presented on a Monday, the Tuesday before 14:00 the incorporation must be complete.
- The following data, until now available for free, will be provided free of charge by the Companies House:
- Name and legal form of a company, its registered office, the Member State in which it was registered, its registration number and its European Unique Identifier (EUID);
- Details of the company’s website, when available.
- Company Status (has it been closed, removed from the Register, dissolved, liquidated, and is it economically active or inactive).
- Purpose of the company.
- Names and details of persons who, individually or collectively are currently able to bind by the company and if they can do so alone or must act jointly.
- Information on any branch of the company in another Member State, including the name, EUID registration number and the Member State in which the branch is registered.
Our Firm we will be happy to advise you on these matters.
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INFANTE Lawyers
November 2022
