Abstract

In the exercise of their profession notaries are obliged to watch over the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the parties and other persons for whom a notarial acttion may be of consequence. This duty is prescribed by the law. There are situations whereby notaries are obliged to refuse to perform a notarial action. They include, for instance, a suspicion that a party does not have a capacity to enter into legal transactions. The article discusses one of the premises that fulfil the criteria of such a situation, namely unawareness of a party to the notarial action. There are various types of impairments of awareness. A consequence of performing a legal action by a person who was in the state of unawareness is that such action is null and void. It might happen that the act-in-law covered by a notarial deed may involve such a defect due to unawareness of a party. In order to eliminate such acts, the law provides for concrete solutions. Another important issue is the need (and capability) for the defect of a declaration of will in the form of unawareness to be detected by a notary. Notaries must be alert in order to guarantee the maximum level of legal security.