14 years of hardship due to flawed notarization: Notary office on the path to conversion, liquidation

A notary public office in Vietnam is on the path to conversion and liquidation following a protracted legal battle stemming from alleged flawed notarization a decade ago. The case involves Mr. Vo Van Thien, who claims to have been left destitute due to the notary's actions.

The dispute centers on a land use rights transfer agreement between Mr. Thien and Chi Thanh Co., Ltd., for a 1,559 square meter plot. A court ruling declared the contract invalid. The ruling ordered Chi Thanh Co., Ltd. to return 2.1 billion Vietnamese dong to Mr. Thien. Additionally, the former Notary Public Office No. 1 of Quang Nam province was ordered to jointly compensate Mr. Thien for damages exceeding 8.7 billion Vietnamese dong.

Enforcing this judgment has proven difficult. The notary office, now operating as Notary Public Office No. 4 in Da Nang, functions as a self-funded public service unit. Current regulations lack specific guidance for handling such substantial civil compensation claims arising from professional notary activities. There are also no clear provisions for allocating state budget funds to cover compensation if the unit is unable to pay.

Further complications arise from the absence of mandatory professional liability insurance for notaries and notary organizations at the time the transaction occurred. This leaves no insurance funds available to meet the court-ordered compensation. The office's existing funds, such as those for salary reforms, are restricted to their designated purposes and cannot be used for these large compensation obligations. The Department of Justice has reported these challenges and requested guidance from the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Finance on how to specifically handle the enforcement of this judgment.