NOTARY PUBLIC LAW

 Law no                      : 1512

Date                           : 18.01.1972

Publication date       : 05.02.1972 the official gazette page 14090

Effective date           : Three months following its publication (article no: 209 of law on notary public)

The Regulation that bring Addendum and Changes to the law 1512

 Law No           Date of Law         Name of the Law                               Enforcement Date

2258               19.02.1980         Law Regarding the Amendment of       23.02.1980

Last Section of the Article 112 of Law on Notary Public no:1512   

 2980                14.02.1984         Decree-Law No. 55 on the                 23.02.1984

amendments of some articles of law

on notary public No.1512 and appending laws regarding, of 20.01.1983 and some stipulations of Decree-Law No. 55 on the amendments of some articles of law on notary public No.1512 and appending laws regarding, of 20.01.1983 and law on passing the amending decree law no:80 of 06.09.1983 regarding amendment of two articles of law no: 1512

 3588                16.11.1989         law regarding amendments in some        23.11.1989

                                                  articles of notary public law  

4276                18.06.1997         law regarding amendments in some        20.06.1997

articles of law on professional institutions qualified as public institute     

 4358                02.04.1998        law regarding amendments in common   04.04.1998

use of tax ID number and notary public law, execution and bankruptcy  law,     deed law, highway  traffic law, law on  check payment regulator and check bearer protection, law on banks, law  on post office and law on passport   

 4579                13.06.2000         law regarding amendments in notary        16.06.2000

                                                   public law

 5134                14.04.2004         law regarding amendments of                     20.04.2004

                                                   one article in notary public law

 5219                14.07.2004         law regarding amendments                        21.07.2004

                                                   in various laws                  

 5281                30.12.2004         Tax Law Adaptation in New Turkish         31.12.2004  

                                                   Lira and law regarding amendments

                                                   in some laws

 5309                02.03.2005         law regarding amendments in notary    08.03.2005

                                                   public law

 5378                01.07.2005         law regarding amendments in some     07.07.2005

                                                   laws and decree laws and handicapped        

                                                   persons

NOTARY PUBLIC LAW

PART ONE 

General Clauses

 Notary profession

 Article 1 – Notary Public is a public service. Notary Publics document operations for assuring security and preventing disagreements and execute other duties given by laws.  

 Foundation process of notary public’s offices and their competences

 Article 2 – In every place where a court of first instance or an individual civil court of peace has been established, a notary public’s office is founded to be authorized to execute the notary public operations of this court according to its field of jurisdiction. 

 (Additional second clause: 2/3/2005-5309/art. 1) However if the field of jurisdiction of the court of first instance covers more than one district, then notary public’s offices can be established in other districts.

 In so far, if there is more than one notary public office in municipality borders of one county, every notary public’s office is authorized to execute all notary public operations in the municipality borders of the county and this without being restricted by the field of jurisdiction of the court of first instance.   

 (Additional fourth clause: 14/7/2004-5219/art. 8) The operations of the first, second and third class notary public’s offices situated in a district where the court of first instance has been erected continue. In these places, we can also establish more than one notary public’s office. The notary public’s offices whose operations continue in a district without a court of first instance or which is under the same field of jurisdiction recently reestablished but is not situated in the same municipality borders are not subject to the provisions of article 109.[1]

 The provisions of the chapter ten are reserved.

 Foundation process of more than one notary public’s office and closure of the notary public’s office

 Article 3 – The Ministry of Justice can establish more than one notary public’s office in the places where arising business overload exists.

 The Ministry of Justice uses its authority written hereinabove by taking into account in one hand the total of the gross income of the notary public’s offices situated in one place and in the other hand the evolutions and developments in the business life.

 Upon condition that they are dismantled, it can close more than one of the actual notary public’s offices.

 The Ministry of Justice takes the opinion of the Notaries Union of Turkey before it uses its authority about establishing or closing more than one notary public’s office. 

(Last additional clause: 14/7/2004-5219/art. 8). If the first, second and third class notary public’s offices situated in the district in which the court of first instance had been erected is dismantled, it can be closed by the Ministry of Justice upon the proposition of the Notaries Union of Turkey.  

Classification of notary public’s offices

Article 4 – The notary public’s offices are divided into four classes.

The first, second and third class notary public’s offices are classified by the Ministry of Justice who takes the opinion of the Notaries Union of Turkey.

 This classification is based upon the population of the field of jurisdiction, the business overload and the notary public’s income. Generally, the notary public’s offices related to the same court are considered in the same class.

 In every four year, the Ministry of Justice examines the notary public’s offices’ situation and announces its reclassification in the Official Journal.    

The new notaries established during the four year mentioned in the above clause are classified without delay in accordance with the second clause and their estimated gross incomes and are announced in the Official Journal.

 The provision of the article 31 concerning the right to relegation to the fourth class notary is reserved. In so far, those who will be promoted to the third class notary public’s offices are determined and announced at the beginning of April of each year.      

Until the new classification is announced, the practice is done according to the old classification.

 Notary public’s office’s class and the minimum service time

 Article 4/a – (Added with article 1 of the Law 3588 dated 16/1/1989.)

 The notary publics are divided into three classes. The service of third class of those who’s gone into notary public by being appointed for the very first time as a third class notary public begin at its business start date.

  The minimum service time of the first and/or third class notary public is four years. In the end of this time, the promotion of notary public’s class depend upon the presence of positive convictions in the last good character document composed by the Justice inspector. 

 The promotion of notary public’s class does not affect notary’s class.

 The notary who gives services in a notary public’s office whose class has been promoted starts to execute the upper-class services in the same notary public’s office beginning from the expiration of his service time if the notary public has not completed his service time related to his previous class and from the composition of the next positive character document if the latest character document formerly composed by Justice inspector indicates that the concerned does not possess the competences necessary to promote to the upper class.

 

PART TWO

Acceptance to the Notary Profession

 Conditions of acceptance to the notary public

 Article 5 – To be a notary public, it is imperative to complete the notary public internship in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and to receive the notary public certificate.

 Exceptional cases

 Article 6(Changed first clause: 14/04/2004 – 5134/ art. 1) Those who are appointed to the juridical or military magistrature or those who having been graduated from the law school are appointed to the administrative magistrature or have been qualified as lawyer and those in accordance with the Advocacy Code have been accepted to the advocacy by being exempted from the imperative of internship and advocacy examinations are not subject to the notary public internship.

 If those people, having enclosed the documents exposed at the paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of the article 9, submit a petition to the Ministry of Justice, and if the examination process done with the additional documents that Ministry considers necessary reveals that there is no obstacle for them to became notary public, then the concerned is given the certificate indicated at the clause 3 of the article 17 and is registered to the notary public’s office record indicated at the article 18.        

Conditions of internship

 Article 7 – For being accepted to the notary public internship, one must:

 1.      Be citizen of Turkish Republic,

2.      (Changed with 13/˚/2000-4579/art. 1) Be over 21, but less than 40,

3.      Be graduated from one of the Turkish law schools or, having been graduated from a foreign law school, pass successful examinations in lessons considered shortcoming by the Turkish law schools programs,

4.      (Repealed. 13/6/2000 – 4579/art. 1)

5.      Not have been condemned for a crime involving moral turpitude or a guilt that requires solitary confinement or not have been received one or more years in jail for intent crime,

6.      Not have been lost the quality to become a judge, prosecutor, officer or lawyer in consequence of a verdict or a discipline decision,

7.      Not have been known by its environment for his attitudes and behaviors incompatibles with notary public profession,

8.      Not have been associated with a business incompatible with notary public and notary public internship,

9.      Not have been limited by a court verdict,

10.  Have retaken his/her rights after bankruptcy, (fraudulent or blamable insolvents are not accepted even if their rights are returned.)

11.  Remove the debtor warrant, if decided,

12.  Not be physically or mentally disable so that he could make his notary public duties as required and consistently,

13.  Have his domicile in the place of internship.

 Those who have been received five years of jail or solitary confinement or those who have conclusively condemned for debit, embezzlement, bribery, corruption, thievery, cheating, forgery, breach of trust and fraudulent bankruptcy are not accepted for notary public internship, even if they are amnestied.

 If the internship applicant is under prosecution for a crime requiring one of the written inflictions of the paragraph 5 of the first clause, it can be decided to hold the decision about the internship demand until the prosecution’s decision. If a public trial has been opened against the applicant for a crime which could require his prohibition from the public duties, it is imperative to not implement the demand of internship and to wait the trial result.

 In so far, whatever the prosecution’s decision, in the cases where the internship demand must be declined, the demand is immediately decided without waiting the result.        

 Works that are incompatible with internship

 Article 8 – The provisions of the first and second clauses of the article 50 of this Law and the provision concerning the prohibition of commerce inscribed in the third clause of the same article are applied to the interns.

 Internship application

 Article 9 – The application for internship is made via a petition submitted to the notary public chamber to which all notary public’s offices in the place of internship are related. Following pieces are attached to the petition:

a)      Two authenticated copies of the documents enumerated in the seventh article concerning the conditions of internship,

b)      A declaration concerning the presence or absence of obstacles cited in the paragraphs 5, 8, 10 and 11 of the seventh article,

c)      A presentation note that will be composed by a member of the said notary public chamber concerning the moral conditions of the applicant for internship,

d)      Domicile address suitable for notification,

 One copy of those pieces are certified by the president of the chamber and then sent to the Notaries Union of Turkey. Other copies or originals are kept in the file at the chamber.

 If the declaration given by the applicant appears incorrect, a prosecution is opened against him/her for committing the crime of making a false declaration to the public authorities.    

 Internship notice

 Article 10 – In ten days following the decision of internship, the demand of application for internship is announced together with the documents indicated in the article hereinabove for fifteen days in a suitable place of the municipality or of the justice department building of the said place.

 Under the condition of showing clear proofs and facts, all persons have the right to make objection to the chamber for not proceeding to the registration for a while.

 Report 

Article 11 – Before the announcement of the demand, the president of the chamber employs one of the chamber’s notary public’s offices for investigating and doing a report on the moral conditions of the demander and the compatibility of his/her works with the notary public internship.   

The decision of acceptance, of rejection or of waiting until the prosecution’s decision

 Article 12 – In a one-month period following the end of the objection delay, the chamber board who takes into consideration the written report mentioned in the article 11 makes a justifiable decision concerning whether the candidate is accepted or rejected to the list of interns or the prosecution’s decision is waited.

 In fifteen days following the notification, the members of the chamber board, the Republic prosecutor or the concerned can make an objection to the Notaries Union of Turkey against this decision.

 If there is no decision within the period indicated in the first clause, then it is considered that the demand has been denied. In this case, the demander of internship can make an objection to the Notaries Union of Turkey in fifteen days following the end of the one-month period.   

The decision of acceptance of the chamber board and the decision of the Board of the Notaries Union of Turkey upon the objection become absolutes after the approbation of the Ministry of Justice. The concerned or the Notaries Union of Turkey can make an objection to the Council of State against the Ministry of Justice’s decision.

Beginning of internship

 Article 13 – The notary public internship begins from the date of registration to the list.

 Objection stops the registration process.

 Determination of the number of interns and of with which notary public’s office the internship will be done  

Article 14 – In each December, the Ministry of Justice who takes into account in the one hand the numbers of the opened or closed or to be opened or closed notary public’s offices and in the other hand the opinion of the Notaries Union of Turkey determines the number of interns to accept for the next year and publishes this condition for one time until the end of year in the Official Journal or in the journals of the determined locals. Notaries Union of Turkey can make an objection to the Council of State against the Ministry of Justice’s decision.

 The notary public’s office with which the internship will be done is indicated in the chamber board’s decision taken in accordance with the article 12. 

 If the notary public’s office is closed or the notary public quits his affairs for more than two months because of an obstacle, the chamber board decides immediately that the intern completes its internship with a different notary public. In so far, this provision is not applied to the intern having completed its sixth month.

 Internship duration and intern’s duties

 Article 15 – The internship duration is one year.

 The internship is made without interruption. The chamber board authorizes the completion of the days during which the intern is absent for justifiable reasons only if the intern makes an application within one month that follows the disappearance of the problem.

 In case of justifiable reasons, the president of the chamber can give permission to the intern.

 In the notary public’s office, the intern is in charge of exercising the works indicated in this law and regulation.

 Reports on internship 

Article 16 – The notary public’s office in which the intern does his/her internship composes quarterly reports that indicate the intern’s moral conditions and professional qualities and addresses it to the chamber it is related.

 The latest of those reports includes the conclusive judgment on the possibility of the intern to be a notary public or on the necessity to prolong the internship for six months.

 If the notary public’s office with which the internship is made is to be changed in accordance with the latest clause of the article 14, the missing quarterly report is arrayed along the report that covers the first quarter with the new notary public. If the internship place is not changed according to the same clause of the article 14 and if the intern is appointed by proxy to a different notary public’s office in pursuant of the article 33, 34 and 35 and if the internship place is changed during the last quarter of the internship, then the quarterly reports and, under the condition that notary public does not return to his/her post until the end of the internship, the final report are composed by the president of the chamber or his deputy by taking into account the oldest reports and by collecting the necessary information.    

 The president of the notary public chamber addresses the intern’s file in which he/she included his/her own opinion and which is accompanied with his domicile address to the Presidency of the Notaries Union of Turkey.

 After including its own objections, if any, the Presidency of the Notaries Union of Turkey addresses the file to the Ministry of Justice.

 The decision of the Ministry of Justice

 Article 17 – In 15 days which follows the arrival of the file, the Ministry of Justice decides whether the purpose of the internship has been achieved.

 If the purpose has not been reached, this decision can prolong the notary public internship duration for six months or can put an end to the internship.

 If the purpose has been reached, the Ministry of Justice delivers a certificate of notary public to the intern. This certificate authorizes the right to be appointed to a third class notary public’s office in service. 

 The concerned intern, the notary public’s office in which the internship is done and the Notaries Union of Turkey can make an objection to the Council of State against the decisions of the Ministry of Justice, made in accordance with this article.

 The registry of the notary public certificate holders  

Article 18 – The notary public certificate holders are enlisted in pursuant of their certificate numbers to the registry taken in the Ministry of Justice.

 If those whose record has been deleted from the register request it, their re-registration is done in accordance with their application date fixed in pursuant of the second clause of the article 25. Those who are in this situation and who apply in the same day are arranged in order in accordance with their certificate numbers. If, at the day of registration, there are those whose registrations are to be done in pursuant to the first clause, then, this type of registration has priority.  

Other points that show the situation of the concerned and that are indicated in the regulation are also inscribed in the register. In case of appointment to the notary public, of death, of permanent loss of appointment conditions to the notary public or of other situations shown in this law, the mode of the removal of the registration is indicated in the regulation.   

 The obligation of address notification

 Article 19 – The ones who hold notary public certificate and who are enlisted in the register mentioned in the article 18 have the obligation to notify to the Ministry of Justice any change in the address that they have notified to the notary public chamber in pursuant of the article 9 and so in 15 days which follows the day of change. 

 Internship wages

 Article 20 – The notary public internship is gainful.

 The internship wage is fixed by the Notaries Union of Turkey who takes the opinion of the Ministry of Justice and is paid from the Union’s budget between the beginning of the internship and the delivery of the notary public certificate by the Ministry of Justice.

 In case of illness of the intern justified in accordance with the regulation, the wages are not cut during the permission which is utmost two months, including the permission mentioned in the article 15.

 In case of prolongation of the internship in accordance with the article 17, the intern receives no wages for this prolongation.   

Excluding the involuntarily loss of one of the internship qualities, if the intern quits the internship or is dismissed from the internship or the holder of notary public certificate rejects two times the Ministry of Justice’s proposal regarding his/her appointment for notary public or refuses to begin the work to which he is appointed after his/her application to the announced notary public and then is considered resigned or quits the career by his/her own will without serving at least two years at the notary public’s office that he/she is first appointed, then the total amount of the wages that are paid to him/her for internship is collected by the Notaries Union of Turkey together with the legal interest of the payment period in accordance with the provisions of the Execution And Bankruptcy Law regarding to the execution of the sentences. This receivable of the Notaries Union of Turkey is brought under prescription in one year beginning from the date of occurrence of the payment reasons mentioned above or, in any cases, in ten years beginning from the delivery of the notary public certificate.  

Responsibility of the intern

 Article 21 – The interns are responsible as the real officer of all the businesses which they made during the internship duration in pursuant of the provisions of this law and regulation. 

 

PART THREE

Appointing notary public

CHAPTER ONE

Announcement and application procedure

Announcement

Article 22- Notary publics that are vacant, opened or upgraded from fourth to third class will be announced for one time in The Official Gazette and the gazette that will be issued in that place, in Ankara and in Istanbul and in places which will be designated by The Ministry of Justice.

 The announcement of the Notary publics that will be vacant because of age restriction is obligatory before the notary public will be dependent on age restriction.  

The previous gross income of the notary public that is vacant or upgraded to the third class and foreseeable gross income of newly opened notary public that will be designated by the Ministry of Justice according to the precedents and the necessary documents for application will take place in the announcement. 

 Application procedure

 Article 23- (Changed clause 1 13.06.2000 – 4579/ art. 2) the ones who submit their applications to the announced notary publics are obliged to attach the document showing they didn’t lose the conditions mentioned in  Article 7, paragraphs 1,5 and the following and the document showing the completion of military service or the document showing unsuitability for the military service to the petition that will be submitted to the office of the director of the public prosecutions place of their residence that will be sent to the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry.

 The Ministry of Justice will not take the request of the people with the uncompleted documents into consideration within the given period.  

 The above-mentioned provision of the paragraphs will not be applied to the ones lawing as the notary public on the application dates. 

 Last section, Article 9 provision will be applied in this case.

 CHAPTER TWO

Designation to the third class notary public

 Designation upon announcement

 Article 24- according to the Article 22 only the ones who possess a notary public certificate will be designated to the announced third class notary public.

 Following a month completion of the last announcement date and completion of the period by all means as stipulated by the paragraph 2, Article 23 Article the Ministry of Justice designates the one at the top of the register, as stipulated by the Article 18 as the notary public, under the condition not to possess any hindrance  

Designation upon proposal

Article 25- (Abolished. Article 17, law no 3588 16/11/1989)

 Upon the refusal of the proposal

 Article 26- (Abolished. Article 17, law no 3588 of 16/11/1989)

 CHAPTER THREE

Designation as the first class, second class and third class notary publics

 Designation procedure

Article 27- (amendment: Article 2, law no 3588 of 16.11.1989)

 The Ministry of Justice will designate one of the applicants as the notary public; the first class ones among the first class notary publics, second class ones among the first or the second class notary publics and third class ones among the first, second or third class notary publics following the completion of an announcement within a month period according to the Article 22. A person who possesses a notary public certificate can be designated as a third class notary only if a third or a higher class application is not submitted. Regarding a second or third class notary public designation, a priority has been given to the designation request of the higher class notary publics. Designation request of a notary public failed to law as a notary public for two years will not be taken into account.   

During the designation process, seniority serves as a basis for notary publics among the same class, and incase of equality of seniority; qualification degree compared to employment record shall be taken in consideration. Those who certify in regulation that they speak at least one of the languages like German, French, English or Italian among the notary publics who have the same seniority and qualification shall be preferred over other candidates and those who graduated from one of the foreign faculties of law in one of the languages mentioned-above shall be preferred over others and those who have a doctorate in law shall be preferred over all. In case of equality of conditions on the above-mentioned situation, those who graduated previously shall be preferred. The person to be appointed shall be fixed, based on drawing lots in case of equality mentioned-above.

 CHAPTER FOUR

Joint Provisions 

Designation by means of transfer

Article 28- (Abolished. Article 17, law no 3588 of 16/11/1989)

 Designation request of the notary publics who leave by means of closing down the notary public office or by resigning

 Article 29- (Amendment: Article 3, law no 3588 of 16/11/1989)

 When the adjudicatory power annuls a designation possession to a vacant or a newly started notary public office, the unemployed notary public returns to law his former duty, if another notary public is designated for his former duty the notary public will be designated primarily for the vacant position of his notary public class or for the new notary public office that is newly started. The service period of the above-mentioned notary public is counted as he serves in the new notary public.

 A notary public who quits his profession by means of resignation after fulfilling his/her two-years service period and submits his application upon announcement, and certifies his notary public competency; he shall be designated to a notary public of his/her class or a lower class on the date of his resignation as stipulated in the framework of principles within the first paragraph of Article 27.

 A notary public who quits his/her profession by means of resignation without fulfilling his/her two-years service period;  shall be designated to a notary public of his/her class on date of his resignation by certifying his/her notary public competency and only if no other candidate is available as stipulated in the Article 24 and 27

 notary public who has resigned shall be designated to a lower class notary public upon his/her request as stipulated by the principles in first section of the article 27. In both cases, if there is more than one request the preference shall be given according to the second section of Article 27.

 a notary public who quits his profession by means of resignation can not submit his/her request for designation after completing the 6 months period of his resignation.

 a notary public who quits his profession twice by means of resignation can never be designated as a notary public again.

 The deputy notary public who is designated before this law came into effect can not take advantage of the second and third section’s provisions of the above-mentioned law. After resigning from the notary public office the above-mentioned ones can not be designated to a notary public office unless he/she possesses the qualifications and competencies mentioned in Article 7. 

 To begin, to renounce and resign the duty

 Article 30- notary public title is acquired by the notification of the designation decision. Notary public title of a  notary public’s  designated or transferred to a notary public office in his/her class or in a higher class, 

 A person designated or transferred to a notary public office, have to commence his/her duty within a month period, following the appointment notification or transfer decision. Within this period, the appointed or transferred person failing to commence his/her duty without any justified reasons or in case he/she submits the designation or transfer request renouncement petition to the Ministry or the office of the director of the public prosecutions, following the appointment or transfer decision notification, this person shall be considered as a resigned person acting as a notary public.

 (Article 17, Law no: 3588 of 16/11/1989 and last sentence of second paragraph abolished, Article 4 and third and fourth paragraphs of the same law amended as follows: )

 The person who is designated as a notary public before the designation or transfer decision have not been notified to him/her,  shall renounce from his/her request by submitting  a petition to the Ministry or the office of the director of the public prosecutions. The designation request of a person who renounces three times as mentioned-above shall not be taken into consideration. If the above-mentioned person holds a notary public certificate his/her certificate shall be annulled. One of the present candidates shall be designated as a notary public in case a renunciation before the designation decision notification takes place without any further announcement according to the articles 24, 27 and 29.

 Period of starting the duty in a new notary public office for those who are already in the profession shall commence following the date of handover operation of the previous notary public office.

  (Last paragraph - Article 3, law no 4579 of 13.06.2000) The Ministry of Justice shall fix a month period to the notary public, who starts up a notary public office in a place that is not determined by the Ministry of Justice or moves his notary public office to the above-mentioned place, for moving his notary public office to the place determined by the Ministry of Justice. The notary public who fails to move his notary public office in the determined place shall be considered as resigned from his duty and his notary public office shall be moved to a determined place under the supervision of the Notary Public Association in Turkey.  

PART FOUR

Power to Notary Public and Warrant 

The management by proxy of the dismantled notary public’s office

Article 33 – Whatever the reason, if a first, second or third class notary public’s office is dismantled, the Office is managed by proxy by the intern who is completed the six month of his/her internship in the said Office, if there is more than one intern in this position, then by the senior intern, if there is no intern in this position, by an intern which will be found and charged by the notary public chamber and in the absence of all these options, by the chief clerk or, if unavailable, by the most senior clerk of the Office 

(Changed clause 2: 16.11.1989 – 3588/art. 5) (Changed phrase 1: 2/3/2005 – 5309/ art. 3) If there is no available clerk in the notary public’s office, this duty is fulfilled, upon the notification of the Republic Attorney General, by an enforcement officer, an assistant enforcement officer or an adequate justice officer who are appointed by the justice commission. If the deputy reveals insufficient during the controls, he/she can be changed any time.

The officer who rules the notary public’s office in accordance with the above clauses receives a wage fixed by the notary public chamber; this wage can not be less than his/her monthly wage or revenues and is paid from the notary public’s income. By the way, this wage can not be more than half of the gross income of the notary public’s office.

 

(Changed: 16.11.1989 – 3588/art. 5) The notary public’s office’s dues, the deputy’s wages and the other expenditures of the notary public’s office including the travel allocation which is given for the deputy’s personal operations will be separated from the monthly gross income of the notary public’s office and the balance together with the detailed list of income-expense will be addressed by the deputy to the Notaries Union of Turkey ultimately until the fifteenth calendar day of the following month.   

Proxy in case of temporarily separations 

Article 34 – If the notary publics are temporarily separated because of arresting, of constrained work ceasing and of dismissal, their duties are performed in pursuant of the article 33.   

In this case, excepting the case of temporarily dismissal, the notary public office’s dues and the deputy’s wage are separated and one half of the remained gross income is attributed to the notary public; the other half is withheld until the conclusive decision of the investigation and the prosecution and it’s so in order to offset the debit or otherwise to restore to the notary public. In case of temporarily dismissal, notary public’s office’s dues and the deputy’s wage are separated and the remained gross income is send to the Notaries Union of Turkey.  

If the temporarily competent assistant notary public ceases to work because of the reasons mentioned in the first clause, a deputy is chosen according to the procedure indicated in the article 32. The deputy receives all the incomes.     

Proxy in case of obstacle 

Article 35 – The notary publics who left their businesses because of illness and justified reasons are substituted by the person who has the primary authority to sign in the said notary public’s office.   

If there is no person with authority to sign, the businesses are done by the intern having completed six months of his/her internship in the said notary public’s office, if there is no intern in this situation, by the chief clerk or senior clerk of notary public and if there is no person to whom the attorney could be presented then by an another intern having the qualities mentioned hereinabove and who is considered adequate by the notary public chamber.

 

(Changed clause three: 2/3/2005 – 5309/art. 4) If there is no available person, this duty is fulfilled, upon the application of the notary public to the Republic Attorney General, by an enforcement officer, an assistant enforcement officer or an adequate justice officer considered sufficient who are appointed by the justice commission in return of a wage appreciated in accordance of the third clause of the article 33.

 

If the temporary notary public assistants have the obstacles indicated in the first clause, then the last clause of the article 34 is applied.

 

 

 

 

Power

 

Article 36 – Notary public can give power of attorney to his intern having completed three months of his/her internship, to his chief clerk or to his another clerk in order to receive help.

 

In case of more than one power of attorney, the priority order of these powers of attorney is indicated in the licenses.

 

The modalities in which the power of attorney can be granted are specified in the regulation. 

 

PART FIVE

Notary Public Oath, Guarantee, Samples of Signature and Seal

 

Notary Public Oath

 

Article 37 – Before they start to work, those who are first appointed to the notary public take an oath on their hearts and honors at the court of first instance or at the individual civil court of peace to which they are related; the oath indicates that they will execute this confided duty in a right manner and with no partiality. One of the three copied records is addressed to the Ministry of Justice. Another copy is addressed to the Republic General Attorney and the last one is held in the file at the notary public’s office.

 

Guarantee

 

Article 38 – In two months which follows their beginning to work, those who enter in the notary public profession must guarantee 5 % of the annual gross income of the notary public’s office. The guarantee can only be cash.

 

The guarantees of the notary public’s offices that will be opened are paid according to the gross income estimated at the notary public advertisement.

 

Also, until the end of the February of the concerned year, the notary public’s offices guarantee 1 % of the real gross income of the previous year.

 

The amount of the guarantee is paid into a national bank of which more than half of its capital belongs to the State. Those banks are shown in the regulation.

 

The guarantee is a counterbalance for the damages caused by the notary public’s offices and hence for the fines assessed to them. Those moneys can not be transferred (assignment of claim) or discharged (hypothec) to someone else. According to the article 49, a part in withheld during the cession; the execution reveals possible from the rest.

 

In order to make him/her fulfill his/her obligations, the Ministry of Justice gives an adequate time, one month at best, to the notary public who does not pay the guarantee in the fixed time or who does not pay all sums. The notary public who does not complete his/her guarantee is considered resigned.

 

Samples of signature and seal

 

Article 39 – The notary publics are charged with the responsibility to send to the local governorship the three samples of their notarial seal and signature in 15 days which follows the date of their beginning to work.  

 

Also, one sample of the signatures of the ones to whom a power of attorney is presented is sent to the local governorship in 15 days which follows the preparation of the said power of attorney. 

 

PART SIX

Notary Public Office

 

Office quality and renting

Article 40- notary public office shall be accepted as government office. Notary public shall make the renting contract on behalf of the office.

 

Notary public is responsible for all expenses of notary public office.

 

Document and books supply and destruction

 

Article 41- according to the procedures mentioned in regulations, document and books and other office supplies and supply used in organs of Notaries Union of Turkey and destruction of document and papers shall be subject to the stipulations regarding government offices.

 

Personnel

Article 42- Notary public office personnel consist of considerable amount of clerks and employees working under the service of the notary public.

 

In notaries public offices where there are at least two clerks, one shall works as head clerk.

 

Head clerk

Article 43- head clerk is the personnel chief in the notary public office.

 

Head clerk is as well as responsible as notary public from documents, books and registered moveable property.

 

Conditions required for being a head clerk

 

Article 44- Conditions required for being a head clerk are as follows:

possess conditions stipulated in government official law, not being discharged by a penal or disciplinary decision, complete candidacy period of six months, authentication of competency by the notary public

 

Candidate, whose competency has not been authenticated yet, shall work for another six months. If the candidate fails, he/she shall not work any longer in that Notary public office.

 

Those who completed courses opened by Notaries Union of Turkey or Chambers shall be a candidate in Notary public office before anyone else.

 

Contract obligation

 

Article 45- notary publics hire candidates at least for a year contract. Notary public has the right to notice of report owing to incompetence of the candidate, unless written explicitly following the completion of candidacy period. In case candidacy period extends, the same stipulation shall be applied.

 

Within the notice of report period if the contract is not annulled or candidacy is not extended, the contract shall continue as clerk contract following the completion of the period. 

 

Notary clerk and candidate contract shall be prepared as four copies and first copy shall be sent to notary chamber, second copy shall be sent to regional labor directorship within 15 days following the date it is prepared. The third copy shall be kept with notary public and the last shall belong to the clerk or candidate.

 

Authenticated copies of documents showing the candidate possess the conditions mentioned in Public Officials Law shall be attached to the copy sent to the Chamber.

 

Notary public shall notify the chamber within 15 days following the situation appears like; the clerk candidate contract became a clerk contract or the contract terminates for any reasons according to the second paragraph.

 

Notary publics who act contrary to the above-mentioned paragraphs, if found faulty, shall at least receive a condemnation for the first time.

 

The above-mentioned stipulation shall be applied for those who act contrary to the article 44.

 

In case discharge decision is final for notary clerk and candidate, clerk and candidacy contract shall be annulled automatically on the date of the final decision. Clerk and candidate can not demand any indemnity for his reason.

 

 

 

Duties fail to be executed by the employees

 

Article 46- employee shall not be employed as clerks.

 

Annual leave of absence or special leave

 

Article 47- notary publics shall give the leave of absence to the clerks and employees who work in the notary public office at least a year as follows:

 

A) Those who work from 1 to 5 years (5 years included) shall have 15 days

 

B) Those who work from 5 to 15 years (15 years included) shall have 20 days

 

C) Those who work for more than 15 years shall have 1 month

leave of absence.

 

Those who shall have their leave of absence away from the notary public office shall have a supplementary leave of absence up to 7 days, to compensate for period in arrivals and departures.

 

The competency period of clerks shall be taken into consideration in calculating service period of a year, mentioned in the first paragraph.

 

The notary public shall give to clerk and employees a leave of absence at most for ten days in a year including the departures and arrivals, under the condition of having a justified excuse. If those-above mentioned leave of absences exceeds ten days in total, the exceeding amount shall be deducted from the annual leave of absence.

 

Clerk and employees shall have their total salary within the period they are on leave, as stipulated in the above-mentioned paragraph.

 

Collective labor contracts and service agreements shall increase the above-mentioned periods shall be increased. Annual paid leave right shall not be abandoned.

 

Application of labor legislation stipulations

 

Article 48- any relation arising from service agreement between clerk and employers with the notary public is subject to the labor legislation unless stipulated otherwise in this law.

 

Notary public office transfer

Article 49- Whatever the reason, if a notary public office became vacant, the relevant notary public or the person authorized to sign shall notify the situation in writing to the office of the public prosecutors. The office of the public prosecutor shall notify the situation to the Ministry of Justice or notary chamber, if notary public died; to his/her rightful inheritors and shall examine his/her calculations and operations within two months at most and shall transfer document, book, paper and trusts to a representative along with a minutes, shell send the report to be prepared with a copy of the minutes to the Ministry of Justice. If the notary public has no connection, the Ministry of Justice shall make the notary public or to his/her rightful inheritors to return the guarantee. If the If the notary public has connection, compensated amount shall be deducted, and measures shall be taken according to the examination results of legally authorized bodies.

 

office of the public prosecutors or and notary public or present inheritors shall determine an item belonging to notary public in notary public office and shall be used by the representative, in return for a fee specified by notary chamber, until the new notary public takes over the duty

 

Stipulation of first paragraph regarding; document, book, paper and trust transfer to the representative shall also be applied for notary public office transfer from; notary public to notary public, representative to notary public and from one representative to another.

If the parties shall not reach an agreement on the amount to be paid for the transfer of present items and installments from the previous to the last notary public within the notary public office, the notary chamber shall fix this amount.

 

Notaries Union of Turkey shall pay the transportation fee, fixed according to the charges law, to the public prosecutor who is present in transfer of notary public office and justice officials assigned for help by the above-mentioned prosecutor. In so far, whatever the transfer period takes,  transportation fee shall not be given for more than five days .

 

PART SEVEN

The Obligations and Rights of Notary Publics

 

CHAPTER ONE

The Obligations of Notary Publics

 

Works that are incompatible with notary public position and are prohibited for notary publics

 

Article 50 – Any service or duty is compatible with notary public position; excluding the duties given by the juridical authorities, presidency or membership to the scientific or charity foundations, arbitration or testamentary executorships.

 

(Second clause repealed: 18/06/1997 – 4276/art. 25) <