KNB advice for strengthening the rule of law

Access to notarial law for everyone, registering clients rejected due to money laundering or terrorist financing risks on a gray list, and better protecting consumers when purchasing real estate: these are some of the recommendations from the Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries (KNB) to the State Commission on the Rule of Law to strengthen the rule of law.

The committee , established in November 2022, will investigate the functioning of the rule of law and formulate proposals to strengthen it. In a letter to the committee, the Royal Netherlands Bar Association (KNB) highlights several topics that could help in this regard.

Accessibility
The notary profession must be and remain accessible to everyone, both in person and online. In the coming years, the Royal Dutch Notary Association (KNB) will work with the notary profession to improve accessibility and increase reachability. For example, by providing additional explanations for people with limited Dutch proficiency, low literacy, and people with mild intellectual disabilities. It would be helpful if (part of) the notarial services were included under legal aid.

Gray list
The Royal Netherlands Bar Association (KNB) is advocating for a mandatory registration system within the notarial profession to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. After a notary refuses service due to the risk of money laundering or terrorist financing, the client can currently easily contact another notary. A gray list of such clients, accessible to notaries, should prevent this. Naturally, this must include adequate safeguards for data protection and the protection of the rights and freedoms of data subjects.

Consumer protection real estate
For the sake of legal certainty and legal protection, the Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries (KNB) believes it's important to involve civil-law notaries early in the real estate purchase process. This can prevent consumers from being misled, for example, in land speculation. Civil-law notaries can also inform consumers in a timely manner about the Environmental Act, which will take effect on January 1, 2024, and the associated Digital Environmental Act System, which could reveal any other significant restrictions regarding the real estate. Furthermore, given their independence and impartiality, civil-law notaries could play a role in making the bidding process fairer and more transparent.

Digitalization of services
Starting next year, it will likely be possible to establish a private limited company (BV) digitally, with the assistance of a civil-law notary. The Royal Netherlands Bar Association (KNB) is advocating for other notarial deeds, such as mortgage deeds and deeds of transfer, to be executed digitally as soon as possible for clients who request it. As with the digital establishment of a BV, the KNB advocates using the highest possible level of reliability for digital identification when executing other digital notarial deeds. The KNB attaches great importance to broad access to the notarial profession, including for those without digital means. For them, analog access to the notarial profession will remain in full force.