The work of notaries under martial law

On February 28, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted the Decree¹, which specifically regulated certain features of the activities of notaries under martial law:

1. certification of powers of attorney and wills, the authenticity of the signature on documents is carried out without the use of notarial forms on sheets of paper with the details of a notary and the State Emblem of Ukraine printed on them. It is allowed to transfer notarial forms between notaries, as well as the destruction of notarial forms and seals in case of a threat of their unlawful seizure or loss (with the preparation of relevant acts);

2. the term for entering information into registers by a notary is extended for the period of their improper functioning;

3. for the duration of martial law, the period for accepting an inheritance is stopped;

4. in relation to applications of citizens and legal entities of the Russian Federation, as well as legal entities of Ukraine, the participant or ultimate beneficiary (with a share of 10% and more) of which is a citizen or legal entity of the Russian Federation, until the adoption and entry into force of the Law of Ukraine on the settlement of relations with the participation of persons associated with the aggressor state:

– incomplete notarial actions are stopped;

– in the case of new appeals – the notary refuses to perform a notarial act (except for the certification of a signature on an application for renunciation of citizenship of the Russian Federation);

5. it is prohibited to make executive inscriptions² on loan agreements that were not certified by a notary;

6. powers of attorney, except for powers of attorney for the right to dispose of real estate and corporate rights, and wills of military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations, law enforcement and special agencies, civil protection agencies involved in defense and resistance, can be certified by the commander (chief) of the relevant formations (bodies) with their subsequent dispatch to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Justice, etc. for registration by notaries in the Unified Register of Powers of Attorney and the Inheritance Register.