Notarial Services
All aspects of notarial work are fully regulated in Law 11/2017, of 25 May, on Notaries.
Andorran notaries
The current Law on Notaries explains that the first Andorran notarial law was “the Law on Notaries of 28 November 1996”, for the figure of the notary is deeply rooted in the legal history of the Principality of Andorra, dating back to the second Pariatge of 6 December 1288. Indeed, the Manuel Digest, which was written by Antoni Fiter i Rossell in 1748, demonstrates the importance of notaries, who are the subject of Chapter VII in Book II.
At first, the Co-Princes had the exclusive prerogative to appoint notaries but, following a decision of the episcopal co-prince, Andreu Capella, on 8 February 1607, the General Council was granted the power to present two suitable candidates for the office of notary in the Valleys of Andorra. The co-princes’ practice of alternately appointing notaries continued until the notarial powers attributed to the parish priests were reduced in a decree by the episcopal co-prince, Francesc Fernández de Xàtiva, on 17 March 1769. This resulted in an increase in the notary’s work so, from that point on, the co-princes would each nominate a notary from the two candidates proposed by the General Council in each case.
The 1993 Constitution provisionally maintained the previous notarial system. However, the Additional Provision of Title VIII of the Justice Law of 3 September 1993 established that this would continue until legislation was passed on the special conditions for new notaries. The new Law was passed on 28 November 1996 and was extensively implemented and supplemented by the General Regulations on Notaries of 20 February 1998, which regulated the General Archive of Protocols and the Central Registry of Last Wills and Testaments. The current regulations on notaries are basically enshrined in Law 11/2017, of May 25, and Decree 17.06.2020, approving the Regulations on the Code of Ethics, Internal Regulations and Fees of Notaries.
Notaries and the
notary’s profession
The law authorises notaries to certify all private law relationships that are established or declared without the intervention of judicial bodies. A notary is defined as a professional with the right to act as a public official, with the authority to authenticate contracts and other nonjudicial acts, record them in protocols and issue copies of them. Notaries act according to the concept of a mandatory service related to the duties entrusted to them.
Numbers of notaries and professional requirements
The number of notaries and the requirements they must meet in order to practise the profession are regulated by law and include education, good conduct and technical suitability and skills, and also a strict regime of incompatibilities.
Profession and responsibilities
Notaries practise under the notarial principles of acting on request and free choice of notary. They are required to keep the documents they authorise for a period of 25 years and to periodically bind them in protocols. In addition, notarial activity is controlled by the ministry in charge of justice, resulting in the appropriate inspections and the possibility of disciplinary procedures.
The law authorises notaries to certify all private law relationships that are established or declared without the intervention of judicial bodies.
The Chamber of Notaries, the General Archive of Protocols and the Registry of Last Wills and Testaments
The law regulates these aspects. So, it defines the Chamber of Notaries as a body governed by public law and of a professional nature, with its own legal personality, which all notaries must join. It also defines the nature of the General Archive of Protocols, attached to the Chamber of Notaries, where the protocols of former notaries and records over 25 years old are deposited, and the Registry of Last Wills and Testaments, also attached to the Chamber of Notaries, and assigns responsibility for their management and maintenance costs. In addition, it regulates the delivery of protocols to the General Archive of Protocols and the notaries’ rights of access, as well as the procedure for registration, communication and issue of certificates concerning the Registry of Last Wills and Testaments.
Anti-Money Laundering
The office of Notary Bartumeu has a private and confidential manual on the implementation, execution and review of the internal system for prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism, as well as the mandatory Individual Risk Study (ERI).
This manual contains the internal actions and procedures that current legislation requires of the notary as a reporting entity.
Compliance with Personal Data Protection Regulations
In accordance with Law 29/2021, of 28 October, on Personal Data Protection, the notary’s office takes special care to protect the personal data of natural persons, under the legal principle of providing a sufficient and reasonable level of protection of everyone’s right to privacy, a fundamental right recognized in Article 14 of the Constitution.
Contact
If you have any queries or would like further information, please complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Phone: +376 801 000
Location
The notary’s office is located in an office and building that are accessible to people with reduced mobility. Furthermore, it is located in an area of Andorra la Vella with several adjacent public car parks.
Prat de la Creu street 36, 2n
AD500 Andorra la Vella, Principat d’Andorra
Opening hours
From Monday to Thursday
From 09:00 h to 13:00 h
From 15:00 h to 19:00 h
Fridays
From 09:00 h to 14:00 h
From 15:00 h to 18:00 h
Fridays June to August
From 09:00 h to 15:00 h
