We carried out a mission in China from November 24 to 28, 2024, in Beijing and Shanghai. The delegation, led by the President of the CSN, Mr. Bertrand Savouré, was accompanied by the Director of Civil Affairs and the Seals, Ms. Valérie Delnaud. We participated in the 14th Franco-Chinese Meetings on Law and Justice organized by the French Embassy, and met with the Vice Minister of Justice of China, Mr. Wang, the French Ambassador, Mr. Bertrand Lortholary, and the Consul General of France in Shanghai, Mr. Joan Valadou. We held working seminars with the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in Beijing and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. We concluded our stay with a symposium on the topic of gratuitous transfers, co-organized with the Sino-French Center for Notarial and Legal Training and Exchange in Shanghai.
With the support of the Institut de Droit Comparé de l’Université Paris Panthéon-Assas and the Association Henri Capitant, we organized a symposium on “The Chinese Civil Code: Franco-Chinese Perspectives”. The discussions focused on a work deciphered by the members of the scientific committee who wrote it. This commented French version of the 1st Civil Code, which came into force on January 1, 2021, was supported and financed by the French notarial profession. It was presented to the French Ambassador in Beijing on October 16, 2023.
From 13 to 16 March 2024, Sophie Sabot Barcet, President of the CSN, Edouard Grimond, Spokesperson for the Conseil supérieur du notariat and Laurent Fritsch, Delegate for La Francophonie at the Conseil supérieur du notariat, attended the Congrès des notaires du Québec. Thanks to Hélène Potvin, President of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, the delegation met Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec Minister of Justice, and Éric Poirier, Director of Guidance and Compliance with the Charter of the French Language, Ministère de la Langue française. A meeting with Quebec notaries who act as mediators provided an opportunity to discuss the various ways in which mediation is organised and developed.
Our international work reached a turning point when we decided, alongside 18 other countries (Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay), to create the International Union of Notaries (www.uinl.org). It now has 91 members!
Organised the third Congress of the International Union of Notaries in Paris, in the presence of the French, Serbian and Georgian Ministers of Justice.
For the first time, France hosted the World Notariat University ‘Jean-Paul Decorps’ organised by the International Union of Notaries. The selective event was attended by almost 100 young notaries from 44 countries.
It is through the work of notaries that I discovered the plight of undocumented children and decided to turn it into a political battle; they are absolutely indispensable as partners.
I am particularly pleased that the French notarial profession is so outward-looking and has been for many years.
The fact that notaries in France and Lebanon wish to work together is an effective way to ensure that the trade between us is secure from a legal standpoint.
