What does a civil law notary do ?
In Belgium, the notary is guided by the National Chamber of Notaries (Chambre nationale des notaires/Nationale Kamer van Notarissen), the Royal Federation of Belgian notaries and the Provincial Chambers of Notaries.
The main objectives of the National Chamber are to represent the notaries of Belgium in dealings with the authorities when it comes to the status of their profession, to establish rules of professional conduct and to make recommendations to Provincial Chambers of notaries to help them in maintaining professional discipline. This latter aspect is the main task of the Provincial Chambers, which – together with the courts – are the profession’s disciplinary bodies: they ensure that the rules of professional conduct are observed and settle professional disputes (among other things, they handle complaints).
The Royal Federation of Belgian Notaries is a professional association that assists notaries in their daily work by providing tailored services in the areas of competence of the notary. They also represent the profession in a variety of cases.
Furthermore, the citizen can rely on an Ombudsman in case they have a complaint about their notary. This service has been available since 2015. More information can be found on www.ombudsnotaire.be (in French).
