Voluntary jurisdiction does not have as its object the resolution of disputes, but only the protection of the interests of citizenship; it is applied when the law provides that, for the performance of certain acts of administration, by fragile subjects or minors, the intervention of the judge is necessary. Those, therefore, that concern voluntary jurisdiction are needs that arise at delicate moments in citizens’ lives and concern private interests.
From 28 February 2023, with a view to lightening the workload of the courts in carrying out certain activities, Legislative Decree No. 149/2022 has opened up the possibility of also turning to the Notary Public in matters of voluntary jurisdiction, on account of the guarantees that the Notary Public offers in terms of third party status as a public official.
In fact, the Cartabia reform establishes that the parties may choose to apply to the Notary, in addition to the judicial authority, to obtain the authorisation required for the stipulation of public deeds and authenticated private deeds in which a minor, an interdict or an incapacitated person, a person benefiting from the support administrator measure, or public deeds and authenticated private deeds concerning hereditary assets. There are therefore many cases in which this alternative route can be taken: to accept a donation of property, sell/buy property, divide jointly owned property, accept inheritance or legacies, cancel mortgages or intervene in a deed of a mortgage as a mortgage giver.
The Notariat has thus been invested with a very delicate role in the protection of subjects considered to be ‘weaker’ in our legal system, because they lack autonomy, with the aim of making it faster and easier to obtain the authorisations required by the legal system for the stipulation of deeds in which they intervene.
This is a major innovation that meets the need to network with Justice in order to create the right support that always sees the citizen at the centre of a service with the guarantee of full protection.
This Vademecum, born from the synergy between the Notariat and the Associations of Consumer Associations, by explaining step by step how the new procedure works, aims to provide an initial concrete help to guide those concerned and their families.