Monday, June 09, 2003
NOTARIES IN CHINA
Growth Pains for Private Law
Here's an interesting article about notaries in China. For American lawyers the subject will seem strange, since a notary in our system is not a legal officer of any great importance. But in the civil (or "code" or "Napoleonic") law system, notaries are usually a functionary sui generis; a combination of magistrate and lawyer. The role of the notary in civil law systems is important, since private parties aren't as empowered to create and adjust their own legal relations on their own -- at least in theory -- in civil law systems.
The referenced article has a lot of interesting points, since it both highlights the challenges of legal reform in China at every level, but also illustrates how the Chinese are forging a unique blend of legal concepts and systems. The text suggests that notaries will be purely non-governmental, profit-making operators, which certainly fits the notion, advocated by folks like David Friedman and Bruce Benson, that law can be a "private good" in economic terms.
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 9:04 AM
