• Document Number：Interpretation No. 6 [2014] of the Supreme People's Court
• Area of Law： Notarization
• Level of Authority： Judicial Interpretation
• Date issued：05-16-2014
• Effective Date：06-06-2014
• Issuing Authority： Supreme People's Court
• Status： Effective

Announcement of the Supreme People's Court
The Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Trial of Relevant Civil Cases Involving Notarial Activities, as adopted at the 1,614th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on April 28, 2014, are hereby issued and shall come into force on June 6, 2014.
Supreme People's Court
May 16, 2014
Several Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on the Trial of Relevant Civil Cases Involving Notarial Activities
(Interpretation No. 6 [2014] of the Supreme People's Court, adopted at the 1,614th meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on April 28, 2014)
To correctly try relevant civil cases involving notarial activities, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the parties, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, the Notary Law of the People's Republic of China, the Tort Law of the People's Republic of China, the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws, and in light of trial practice.
Article 1 Where a party or an interested party to a notarization matter initiates an action in the people's court for civil damages in accordance with Article 43 of the Notary Law, the notarization institution shall serve as the defendant, and the people's court shall accept the case and treat it as a tort dispute.
Article 2 Where a party or an interested party to a notarization matter initiates an action for modification or revocation of a notary certificate, or determination of a notary certificate as invalid, the people's court shall not accept the case, and shall notify the party that it may, in accordance with Article 39 of the Notary Law, apply for re-examination to the notarization institution which has issued the notary certificate.
Article 3 Where a party or an interested party to a notarization matter disputes the notarized civil rights and obligations in a notary certificate, it may initiate a civil action in the people's court with respect to such dispute in accordance with Article 40 of the Notary Law.
Where a party or an interested party to a notarization matter disputes the civil rights and obligations in a notarized debt instrument with enforceability, and initiates a civil action directly in the people's court, in accordance with the law, the people's court shall not accept the case, unless the people's court rules that the notarized debt instrument is unenforceable.
Article 4 Where a party or an interested party to a notarization matter presents evidence to show that a notarization institution or a notary thereof falls under any of the following circumstances in conducting notarial activities, the people's court shall hold that the notarization institution is at fault.
(1) Issuing a notary certificate for any matter that is false or illegal;
(2) Destroying or tampering with a notary certificate or a notarial file;
(3) Disclosing a trade secret or an individual's private information learned during notarial practice;
(4) Issuing a notary certificate in violation of the notarial procedures, rules for handling notary certificates or industry standards developed by the judicial administration department of the State Council;
(5) Failure of the notarization institution to fulfill its obligation to fully review and verify the materials during notarization, causing a notary certificate to be erroneous or false;
(6) Failing to correct or supplement an erroneous notary certificate upon application by a party or an interested party to the notarized matter; or
(7) Other circumstances involving violations of laws, regulations or compulsory provisions of the judicial administration department of the State Council.
Article 5 Where, in applying for notarization, a party provides false certification materials, causing the notary certificate to be erroneous and others to suffer loss, the party shall assume compensatory liability. If the notarization institution has fulfilled its obligations to review and verify materials in accordance with the law, it shall not assume compensatory liability. If it fails to fulfill the review and verification obligations in accordance with the law, it shall assume liability for compensation in proportion to its fault. Where the notarization institution has knowledge that the certification materials for notarization are false, or maliciously colludes with a party, it shall be jointly and severally liable for compensation.
Article 6 Where a party or an interested party to a notarization matter uses the notary certificate issued by a notary institution with the knowledge that the notary certificate is false or illegal, thereby suffering loss, and requests the notarization institution to assume compensatory liability, the people's court shall not support its claim.
Article 7 These Provisions shall apply to civil cases involving notarial activities which are not yet closed when these Provisions come into force. Where a case is closed before the implementation of these Provisions, but the party applies for a retrial or decision has been made that the case shall be retried in accordance with the trial supervision procedures, these Provisions shall not apply.