NOTARIAL SECRECY AS ONE OF THE IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF A NOTARY'S ACTIVITY: CURRENT STATE AND PROBLEMATIC ISSUES

Abstract

The scientific article is intended to study the current state and problematic issues of notarial secrecy, as one of the important components of the notary's activity. At the beginning of our research, the general concept of notarial secrecy was defined, which is one of the types of professional secrecy. It is noted that notarial secrecy is an important component of the activity of a notary, which ensures the protection of confidential information obtained by him in the course of performing his professional duties. The current legislation regarding the activities of notaries and the principles of protection of notarial secrecy at various procedural stages are analyzed, including: the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine «On Notaries», the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Economic Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Based on the analysis of regulatory legal acts, it is indicated that the notary must ensure the safe storage of notarial documents containing confidential information and ensure their destruction in accordance with the law. Among the problematic issues of notarial secrecy, problems related to the storage of confidential information in electronic form are mentioned. In addition, it is specified that the notary enters information into the Unified Register of Powers of Attorney, the Inheritance Register, the State Register of Civil Status Acts, the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organizations, and other unified and state registers. Another problem identified during the study is the lack of clarity of the principles of holding a notary public accountable for disclosing notarial secrets. It is proposed to improve the electronic register of notarial actions and to develop new mechanisms for storing and transmitting confidential information in accordance with modern requirements. It is also proposed to clearly state the principles of responsibility for disclosing notarial secrets in the Law of Ukraine «On Notaries» and in criminal and administrative legislation.