Senate agrees with KNB's position on digital passing

The Senate today approved the Temporary COVID-19 Justice and Security Act. This law enables the use of digital tools to execute deeds in emergency situations. The law will take effect as soon as possible, likely as early as this week.

Civil-law notaries can use audiovisual equipment for identification and instruction and then execute the deed. This is only permitted in situations where no other means of executing the deed are available. Moreover, the law is temporary and does not amend the Civil-Law Notaries Act (Wna). The Royal Dutch Association of Civil-Law Notaries (KNB) has worked to have this incorporated into the law. The professional organization believes this method is appropriate for the role of civil-law notaries, who are at the heart of society and must enable those seeking justice to properly record agreements and wishes in a notarial deed, even in an emergency. Minister for Legal Protection Sander Dekker also confirmed in a letter to the House of Representatives that he supports this practical method as formulated by the KNB.

Full-fledged deeds
In response to questions from the Senate, the Minister further indicated that wills and other deeds executed under this Temporary Act are fully-fledged notarial deeds. Therefore, they are not considered emergency wills as defined in Article 4:102 of the Dutch Civil Code. This means that wills executed under the Temporary Act do not need to be executed again for legal protection after the Temporary Act is repealed.

Abroad
The Minister has confirmed that the Temporary Act only applies within the Netherlands. The Temporary Act is not intended to enable the execution of deeds by audiovisual means for persons residing abroad. These persons will have to use the local regulations available there.

General meeting
In addition, electronic communication is temporarily permitted in cases where in-person consultation and decision-making procedures are currently required. This includes, for example, listed companies and associations that are required to hold an annual general meeting. Due to the coronavirus, in-person meetings are undesirable.

Temporary
The law applies retroactively to March 16, 2020, regarding the use of digital tools by notaries. This regulation reaffirms the validity of deeds executed based on the procedure previously approved by the Royal Netherlands Bar Association (KNB) from that date onward. The temporary law is in effect until September 1, but can be extended for two months at a time. The KNB will inform notaries in a timely manner when the law is repealed.