• Document Number：No. 68 [2017] of the Ministry of Justice
• Area of Law： Notarization
• Level of Authority： Departmental Rules
• Date issued：06-29-2017
• Effective Date：06-29-2017
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： Supreme People's Court Ministry of Justice

Notice of the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice on Carrying out the Pilot Program of Notarial Institutions' Participation in the Judicial Assistance Affairs of the People's Courts
(No. 68 [2017] of the Ministry of Justice)
The higher people's courts and departments (bureaus) of justice of provinces, (autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government), including Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Shaanxi:
In order to implement the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress and the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee in an in-depth manner, carry out the Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Improving the Mechanism of Diversified Resolution of Conflicts and Disputes, and give full play to the functional roles of the notary system in promoting the reform of the diversified dispute resolution mechanism , you are hereby notified of the pilot program of notarial institutions' participation in the judicial assistance affairs of the people's courts as follows:
I. Fully Comprehending the Significance of Carrying out the Pilot Program of Notarial Institutions' Participation in Judicial Assistance Affairs
The notary system is an important part of China's socialist legal system and it is a system of preventative judicial proof. Notary activities may provide judicial basis for the people's courts' work of trial and enforcement and promote legal and efficient trial activities; a notarized instrument of creditor's claims has enforceability and it may directly serve as the enforcement basis for the people's court without litigation, in which way judicial costs may be reduced and judicial efficiency may be improved; the notary system has such functions as service, communication, proof, and supervision. It is the basic judicial resource for diversified resolution of social conflicts and may serve as an important force for undertaking judicial assistance affairs of the people's courts. In recent years, some local people's courts have positively introduced notarial institutions to participate in judicial assistance affairs and good effects have been achieved. The participation of notarial institutions in judicial assistance affairs is a useful exploration for the reform of the litigation system centered on trial and an important measure in which notarial institutions assist the people's courts in the reform of the judicial system. It is conducive to assisting judges in concentrating on effectively conducting the work of trial and enforcement, alleviating the contradiction between “fewer judges with more cases” in the people's courts, further deepening the reform of the diversified dispute resolution mechanism, promoting the rational allocation and efficient utilization of social dispute resolution resources, and facilitating the innovative development of the reform of notarial institutions. The people's courts and judicial administrative organs at various levels shall, from the perspective of fully advancing law-based governance and promoting the socialist construction governed by law, fully comprehend the significance of notarial institutions' participation in judicial assistance affairs, positively create conditions for notarial institutions' participation in judicial assistance affairs, and solidly advance the in-depth conduct of the pilot program.
II. Main Content of the Pilot Program of Notarial Institutions' Participation in Judicial Assistance Affairs
From July 2017, the pilot program of notarial institutions' participation in judicial assistance affairs has been carried out in 12 provinces (municipalities directly under the Central Government, and autonomous regions), including Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Shaanxi, with the term of one year. The higher people's courts and departments (bureaus) of justice in the pilot regions shall select areas where the local people's courts have such prominent contradiction of “fewer judges with more cases” and local notarial institutions have strong service capacity, positively and steadily carry out the pilot program of notarial institutions' participation in the judicial assistance affairs of the people's courts, give support to notarial institutions in providing notarial legal services in such links as mediation, evidence-taking, service of process, preservation, and enforcement, and bring the functional roles of the notary system into full play. The main content of notarial institutions' participation in judicial assistance affairs includes:
1. Participation in mediation. The people's courts shall absorb notarial institutions into the register of mediation organizations specially invited by the people's courts. The notarial institutions in the register may accept the designation or entrustment of the people's courts and conduct mediation in family matters, commercial affairs, and other fields, give play to the procedural effects of pre-litigation guidance, and carry out the reform of prepositive procedure of mediation. Where a mediation agreement is reached upon designated mediation, the notarial institution may, upon application of the party, handle notarization formalities for the reconciliation or mediation agreement with the payment content and specific debtor-creditor relationship and assign the enforceability; where a mediation agreement is reached upon entrusted mediation, the notarial institution shall transfer the mediation agreement and the relevant materials to the people's court and the people's court shall issue a paper of civil mediation or conduct the corresponding handling in accordance with legal provisions. Where no mediation agreement is reached, the notarial institution may, after obtaining the consent of the parties, record undisputed facts for both parties in the mediation process in writing and the parties shall affix their signatures for confirmation. In legal proceedings, except facts involving state interests, public interests, and lawful rights and interests of other persons, it is unnecessary for the parties to bear the burden of proof for undisputed facts that have been confirmed in the mediation process.
2. Participation in evidence-taking. The notarial institutions may accept the entrustment of the people's courts, verify, investigate, and collect evidence on the parties' marital status, kinship, properties, support to under-aged children, and written documents. Upon completion of the review, the notarial institutions shall issue an evidence-collection report on the content, process, and results of verification to the people's courts.
3. Participation in service of process. The notarial institutions may accept the entrustment of the people's courts to participate in the judicial service affairs at various stages of cases. The notarial institutions shall be encouraged to adopt information-based means, promote the intensive service patterns, and avoid decentralized operations and repeated resource inputs. Upon completion of the service of process, the notarial institutions shall prepare the complete process registration form for service based on the service process, service results, and other circumstances and submit the form to the people's courts for preservation and future reference.
4. Participation in preservation. The notarial institutions may assist the people's courts in verifying information on and clues to preserved properties, and the ownership, occupation, and usage of preserved moveable properties. Where the property preservation requires guarantee, the notarial institutions may assist the people's courts in reviewing the letter of guarantee for property preservation and the letter of assurance submitted by the preservation applicant or the third party, and verifying the guarantee content and evidence materials.
5. Participation in enforcement. The people's courts shall give support to notarial institutions in participating in judicial assistance affairs in the link of enforcement. The notarial institution may participate in the work of reconciliation, investigation, and service of process in the enforcement by the people's court. Where the notarial institution assists the people's court in collecting and verifying enforcement clues and checking and controlling the subject matter of enforcement, it shall assist in checking and managing the seized and detained properties. Upon application by the enforcement organ, the notarial institution may handle the notarization of evidence preservation.
III. Strengthening Organization and Leadership in the Pilot Program of Notarial Institutions' Participation in Judicial Assistance Affairs
1. Strengthening organization and leadership. The higher people's courts and departments (bureaus) of justice in the pilot provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government) shall attach great importance to the pilot program of notarial institutions' participation in judicial assistance affairs, study and prepare schemes for implementation of the pilot program, and ensure that the pilot program is initiated on time, implemented smoothly, and completed as scheduled. A communication and coordination mechanism shall be established to create conditions for notarial institutions and notary personnel's participation in judicial assistance affairs.
2. Strengthening training and guidance. The conditions, content, procedures, and work measures for notarial institutions' participation in judicial assistance affairs shall be specified, and problems encountered in the pilot program shall be researched and resolved in a timely manner. The business training and discipline education of notary personnel shall be strengthened, the training in the relevant fields especially notarial services in professional technical fields shall be intensified, and the notarial acts shall be strictly regulated, so as to guarantee the authenticity of notarial evidence, avoid flaws in notarial evidence, and improve the quality and informatization and standardization level of judicial assistance affairs.
3. Strengthening policy guarantee. The local people's courts and judicial administrative organs at various levels in the pilot areas shall, in light of the actual work circumstances, win over the support and cooperation of politics and law committees of the Party committees, the public finance departments, and other departments, introduce notarial institutions to participate in judicial assistance affairs by means of government's purchase of services, provide necessary funds, sites, and facilities for the pilot program, and guarantee the in-depth implementation of the pilot program.
4. Promoting system improvement. The people's courts and judicial administrative organs at various levels shall make efforts to follow up and guide the pilot program and conscientiously summarize and popularize the experiences and practices of the pilot program. In June 2018, the Supreme People's Court shall, jointly with the Ministry of Justice, comprehensively evaluate the actual effects of the pilot program and positively promote the revision and improvement of the relevant rules and regulations.
Supreme People's Court
Ministry of Justice
June 29, 2017