Handbuch zur Geschichte des Notariats der europäischen Traditionen

The book compiles the research results of 20 lectures given at an international conference held in September 2007 in Bonn. Subject of this publication is the history of notary law and notary profession.
The legal profession of the notary shows the relation between national developments of law and the European context: without the appearance of the “Latin Notary” in Northern Italy the development of the profession in the middle of Europe until the 14th century would have been rarely conceivable. The French “Ventôse-Gesetz” legislated in 1803 affected not only the notaries in France but furthermore had impact on the notarial profession in Southern Italy, Poland, Spain and in parts of Germany.
On the other hand national developments demonstrate how heterogeneous the position of a notary could be. This includes the different expectations clients had and still have towards the status of a notary. The spectrum varies from an ordinary clerk of the court up to the independent and highly qualified lawyer in “Latin Notary” countries.
In addition to this overview of notary law tradition in 20 mostly European countries the reader will be given the opportunity to get a general idea of recent historiography concerning the international history of notaries.