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Responsible governance of tenure and preventive justice

A guide for notaries and other practitioners in the preventive administration of justice











The second edition of this publication is available "Responsible governance of tenure and preventive justice – A guide for notaries and other practitioners in the preventive administration of justice. Governance of Tenure Technical Guide No. 13. Second edition (May, 2022)"


FAO and UINL. 2022. Responsible governance of tenure and preventive justice - A guide for notaries and other practitioners in the preventive administration of justice. Governance of Tenure Technical Guide No. 13. Rome.




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    Book (series)
    Responsible governance of tenure and preventive justice
    A guide for notaries and other practitioners in the preventive administration of justice – Second edition
    2022
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    This technical guide is a product of the fruitful collaboration between FAO and UINL (MoU signed in 2016) which led to illustrate that the preventive administration of justice and notaries, as independent public legal officers, can play a key role in achieving the VGGT recommendations. By exercising their function responsibly and implementing best practices, practitioners in the preventive administration of justice can make a considerable contribution to improving the living conditions of citizens worldwide, to achieving sustainable livelihoods, housing security, rural development and environmental protection for the benefit of all citizens. The guide advocates for responsible governance of tenure through the use of the VGGT. It identifies challenges and showcases good practices. Preventive justice is analyzed to assess its contribution to the responsible governance of tenure. VGGT are used as an inspiration for the practice of preventive justice. All stakeholders are finally invited to cooperate and engage in advocacy.
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    Policy brief
    Legal empowerment to promote legitimate tenure rights 2021
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    Over the past thirty years, an increasing number of states have passed good laws that significantly strengthen the tenure rights of their citizens. However, due to multiple barriers, a high percentage of many nations’ citizens are either unaware of their legal rights or unable to use national laws to protect their rights when threatened. Legal empowerment efforts focus on strengthening citizens’ capacity to exercise their rights in a wide variety of fora, including in government administrative procedures, courts and tribunals, and when advocating for laws and policies. Legal empowerment is a key component of ensuring that the governance of land, fisheries and forests is responsible, equitable and just. Legal empowerment initiatives may include legal education; capacity development; efforts to shape state justice systems; legal support for citizens; and promotion of citizen participation in law-making. This legal brief outlines how state and civil society-led legal empowerment initiatives may contribute to the realization of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT) and support greater tenure security, good governance, improved use of formal legal systems, and increased political participation by all citizens.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Guidelines on strengthening gender equality in notarial practices - South-East Europe 2019
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    In the Western Balkans, notaries are public officials appointed by the State to confer authenticity on legal deeds and contracts contained in documents drafted by them or presented for authentication to them and to advise persons who call upon their services. These services include all judicial activities in non-contentious matters, affording legal certainty to clients . Notaries are also a part of the preventive administration of justice. The involvement of notaries in contracts and inheritance proceedings is regulated in national law, and, while there are variations across legal systems, their functions include the protection of constitutionally guaranteed rights and the application of the broader legal framework. This puts them in a privileged position to accelerate the realisation of de facto gender equality in land ownership and control, making them important agents of change. The procedure of full or partial notarial authentication is considered as one of the effective ways to protect the property rights in general and address equality through lending adequate assistance to whichever of the parties might be in a position of inferiority. National chambers of notaries are members of the International Union of Notaries (UINL) which promotes, co-ordinates and develops the functions and activities of notaries across the world. The UINL has developed Principles of notarial ethics which, among other important premises, emphasize the duty of notaries to exercise due diligence when carrying out their professional duties. By extension, this principle requires notaries to apply the law, including by ensuring that they uphold gender equality in their professional activities. In the region, all national laws on notaries follow the UINL principles. Besides, national chambers of notaries have developed their own Codes of Ethics which mirror these principles. The role of the notary as an independent and impartial public servant with the competences to advise the parties on the rights and obligations arising from the legal deed to be concluded, as well as protect the overall legal system, is set forward by the national laws. The UINL Principles of notarial ethics therefore offer a sound basis to guide notaries in strengthening gender equality in their daily activities. Following these principles, a notary’s duty is to ensure that the rights and interests of all parties to a contract are identified, respected and protected. The notary’s impartiality imposes the duty of providing adequate information and advice to protect the rights and interests of all parties, particularly those who are vulnerable or at a disadvantage. Notaries are sworn by oath and bound by law to exercise due diligence in the services that they provide, identify potential infringements of the weaker party’s rights that are guaranteed by the law. It is a notary’s duty not only to identify the risks associated with certain services and the consequences of not addressing those risks, but also to recommend an approach in order to address risks that he/she has detected. These guidelines are intended as a practical assistance document that notaries can use to strengthen gender equality in the services that they provide. It offers quick and easy steps, and checklists to help notaries exercise due diligence in the services they provide under the law, by identifying and protecting the rights of all women and daughters with a legal interest in the service. It also provides additional information for notaries wishing to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the gender implications of the services they provide, and tips on how to engage in advocacy. The guidelines are without prejudice to notaries’ legal duties according to the national laws in force.

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