Subjects of proceedings in cases for compensation for damage inflicted while performing a notarial act

Abstract

Pursuant to Article 49 of the Polish Notarial Profession Law Act, a civil-law notary is liable for damage inflicted while performing a notarial act on terms and conditions defined in the Civil Code, upon accounting for special care which a civil-law notary is required to exercise while performing such acts. It is acknowledged that it is liability ex delicto (for a wrongful act), and even the slightest fault (culpa levissima) will suffice to attribute liability to the civil-law notary. Such lawsuits may be filed primarily by the parties to the notarial act, and also by third parties because pursuant to Article 80 §2 of the Notarial Profession Law Act, while performing notarial acts, a civil-law notary is required to ensure adequate protection of the rights and legitimate interests of both the parties and other persons who may be affected by the legal consequences of such an act. The defendant is the civil-law notary in person rather than the company within which he or she operates (including liability of the person substituting for the civil-law notary). An insurer with whom the civil-law notary entered into a mandatory agreement on civil liability insurance may also be the defendant.