2 Zivilrecht, Strafrecht, Administration of Justice » 21 Civil Law » 210 General Provisions

Principle

1 This Act governs public notarization and official authentication within the meaning of §§ 9 et seq. of the Introductory Act to the Swiss Civil Code (EGzZGB) of September 14, 1978.

2 However, it does not apply to other notarizations and authentications, particularly not in the public sector.

3 The Government Council regulates competence and procedure for super-legalizations (apostilles).

II. Public Notarization

1. General Provisions

1. Obligation to Certify

1 The competent official notaries must comply with requests for the performance of a certification within a reasonable period, except when

a) they are prevented by important reasons;

b) what is to be certified is legally impossible or obviously unlawful or immoral;

c) a ground for recusal exists according to §§ 14 f. EGzZGB;

d) event-related declarations and findings are to be made and certified virtually.

2 Freelance notaries and municipal clerks and their deputies may refuse a certification mandate.

2. Duty to Ascertain

1 The notary public must, for every notarization, ascertain the existence of the

prerequisites for notarization and the facts to be notarized.

2 In particular, the notary public must verify the identity as well as the mental

capacity and legal capacity of the persons involved in the notarization. The powers

of attorney of any representatives must be checked. If doubts exist regarding the

mental capacity and legal capacity, identity, or power of attorney, the notarization

may be temporarily refused.

3 The substantive duty to ascertain relates, for individual declarations, to the

content of the declaration, and for factual notarizations, to the process to be recorded

or the existing facts which are to be certified by the notary public.

3. Duty of Care

1 Notarizations must be prepared and executed with the utmost care.

2 The notary entrusted with the public notarization of individual declarations must

in particular ensure that the will of the parties is clearly and completely expressed.

The parties must be instructed on the form and legal significance of a transaction,

and the removal of contradictions and ambiguities must be insisted upon. A duty to

advise on the part of the notary only exists with regard to the intended public

notarization.

3 If event-related declarations and findings are made virtually, the notary may rely on

the corresponding findings of the event management during the investigations

pursuant to § 3 para. 2, provided that no event participant immediately raises an

objection.

4. Duty of Truthfulness

The certifying officer is bound by the duty of truthfulness in the documentary attestation.

5. Duty of Confidentiality

1 Notaries Public, as well as their employees and assistants, are obliged to maintain confidentiality regarding facts they learn in connection with the preparation and execution of notarial acts.

2 Documents prepared by the Notary Public, as well as reproductions of all kinds, may only be released to those who are authorized to receive them.

6. Form of the Instrument

1 The instrument shall be drafted coherently, in legible and durable script. The

required signatures must in any event be handwritten.

2 The authenticating officer is authorized to create electronic copies of the public

instrument drawn up by them.

7. Legal Consequences

1 A public deed is null and void if

a) the certifying officer lacks jurisdiction;

b) the certifying officer was not personally present during the certification of an individual declaration or during the record-keeping, with the exception of virtually held, event-related declarations and findings;

c) the identity of the certifying officer cannot be clearly determined based on the information in the deed;

d) the deed is drawn up in one or more languages that the certifying officer does not understand and which are not translated;

e) the date or the signature of the certifying officer is missing.

2 A public deed, which has been drawn up in violation of the disqualification rules according to §§ 14 f. EGzZGB, may be challenged and declared entirely or partially invalid by the court, unless overriding reasons recommend its upholding. The action is time-barred after one year from the date on which the plaintiff acquired knowledge of the grounds for challenge.

3 Federal provisions on public certification remain reserved.

8. Duty to Preserve

1 The notary keeps a register from which the notarial acts performed by him or her, the

parties involved therein, and the date are evident.

2 He or she preserves an engrossed copy of the documents prepared by him or her in a

secure place.

3 He or she makes arrangements so that the register and engrossed copies are available to a

successor qualified to perform notarial acts. If there is no such successor, the register and

engrossed copies must be submitted to the Cantonal Court for safekeeping within 6 months.

2. Notarization of Individual Declarations

1. Content and Creation of the Deed

1 In addition to the declaration to be notarized, the deed must contain

a) Name, first name, and office or domicile of the notary public;

b) the precise designation of the parties and other persons involved in the

notarization (representatives, witnesses);

c) place and date of the creation of the deed;

d) the notarization declaration and the signature of the notary public, the

parties or their representatives, and other participating persons;

e) seal or stamp of the notary public.

2 Special requirements prescribed for specific cases and types of deeds remain

reserved.

3 The parties may either write the documents concerning the declarations to be

notarized themselves or entrust their drafting to the notary public.

2. Notarization Process

a) In General

1 The notary public must read the document aloud to the parties or provide it to them

for reading. If the parties declare that the document is complete and corresponds to their

mutually conforming will, the notary public has the parties

sign it.

2 Subsequently, the notary public confirms with their signature that the document

contains the will declared to them by the parties.

3 Stamps or seals can also be affixed immediately after the notarization process.

4 If, exceptionally, not all parties can appear simultaneously before the

notary public, this process must be repeated with each party.

It must be specified on which day the individual persons signed. This

procedure is not permissible for the notarization of contracts concerning life annuities, marriage, and inheritance.

b) Persons unable to write, infirm, or foreign-language speakers

1 If a party declares that they cannot sign, a witness must participate in the

notarization process and confirm by signature on their behalf that the deed

contains the will of that person.

2 If a party, due to an infirmity, is unable to follow the notarization process

or to declare that the deed corresponds to their will, an expert must be

called in. The expert must participate in the notarization process, bring

the content of the deed to the knowledge of the party concerned, and then

confirm by signature that the party has declared to them that the deed

contains their will.

3 The procedure according to paragraph 2 must be applied by analogy also

when a party involved does not understand the language used in the deed.

4 The reason for calling in a witness or expert must be recorded in the deed.

5 For the involvement of witnesses and experts, the corresponding provisions

of the Swiss Code of Civil Procedure and, regarding their disqualification,

§§ 14 et seq. of the Introductory Law to the Swiss Civil Code (EGzZGB)

are to be applied by analogy. Provisions of federal law remain reserved.

c) In Unilateral Contracts

1. When notarizing contracts that are unilaterally binding, particularly in the case

of establishing a real charge (Grundpfand) or constituting a suretyship,

only the person undertaking the obligation must appear before the notary.

2. For the notarization of a real charge contract, a written declaration from the pledgee

(Pfandgläubiger) is sufficient.

3. Recording of declarations tied to events

1. Content and Creation of the Instrument

1 The instrument concerning the notarization of event-related declarations

must contain, in addition to the ingress, which shall specify the name, first name, and office or

domicile of the notary, the following

a) The location or virtual execution, and date of the event;

b) The explanations on the procedure given by the event manager to the notary;

c) The names of the tellers appointed by the event manager and other

persons who subsequently make declarations regarding the course of the event

for the record;

d) The names of all other persons whose mention is prescribed by federal law;

e) The events material for notarization;

f) The mention of those documents whose existence at the time of the event is

necessary for valid decision-making;

g) The notarization declaration as well as the signature and seal or stamp of the

notary, in the case of subsequent notarization, additionally the place and date

of the instrument’s creation;

h) If necessary, the signatures of those persons whose declarations for the record

are only deemed legally effective upon their signature.

2 The notary is entitled to draft and sign the instrument only after the conclusion of the event.

2. Corporate Law Findings in Particular

The public deed consists in particular of the certification by the certifying person

regarding the declarations and findings required by federal law.

4. Certification of Existing Facts

Content and Preparation of the Instrument

The instrument concerning the notarization of existing facts must contain

a) Name, first name, and office or domicile of the notary public, as well as the personal details of the party requesting the notarization;

b) the precise description of the established facts;

c) the notarization statement, the date, and the signature and seal or stamp of the notary public.

Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Personal Affairs

1 The notarization of the power of attorney for healthcare and personal affairs is governed by § 10 para. 1 and 3

of this law.

2 The document must particularly describe the tasks that are to be assigned to the authorized person. It may contain instructions for the performance of the tasks and substitute provisions (Art. 360 CC).

III. Official Certification

1. Obligation to Authenticate

1 Requests for the performance of an authentication must be met by the public notaries, the municipal clerks and their deputies, as well as the state-employed authentication persons, under the same conditions as in § 2 para. 1, within a reasonable period.

2 Independently practicing authentication persons may decline an authentication mandate.

2. Applicability of the General Provisions

1 Sections 3, 4 para. 1, 6, 8 and 9 para. 1 and 3 of the general provisions

are mutatis mutandis also applicable to authentication.

2 The duty to investigate relates only to signature and translation

authentications.

3. Certification of a Signature or a Hand Mark

1 A signature or a hand mark may only be certified if the signature or hand mark is

executed in the presence of the certifying person, or acknowledged by the respective

person as genuine.

2 If there are no doubts about the identity of the person and the genuineness of their

signature, the certifying person may, after prior arrangement with the respective

person, certify their signature or hand mark even in their absence, based on their

acknowledgement.

3 Representation for the acknowledgement of a signature is permissible if a duly

issued and certified power of attorney for this purpose is presented.

4. Other Attestations

1 When attesting to a copy, an extract, or another reproduction, the attesting person must personally verify the conformity with the presented document.

2 To attest to a translation, the attesting person must consult an expert if they do not possess sufficient knowledge of the foreign language.

5. Form

1 Authentication is carried out by means of an appropriate endorsement, which must be signed by the authenticating person, stating the place and date, and affixed with the seal or stamp.

2 When authenticating signatures, the name, first name, and date of birth, as well as other information necessary for the identification of the person, must also be provided.

3 The authenticating person is authorized to electronically authenticate the conformity of electronic copies created by them with the original paper documents, as well as the genuineness of signatures.

4 The involvement of experts shall be governed *mutatis mutandis* by § 12 para. 4 and 5.

IV. Final Provisions

1. Repeal of Existing Law

With the entry into force of these Regulations, the Ordinance on Attestation and

Certification of 28 June 1979 is repealed.

2. Referendum, Publication, Entry into Force

1 This Act is subject to an optional referendum in accordance with §§ 34 or 35 of the Cantonal Constitution.

2 It shall be published in the Official Gazette and, after its entry into force, included in the Collection of Laws.

3 The Government Council is entrusted with its implementation. It shall obtain the approval of the Federation and determine the date of its entry into force.

Transitional Provision for the Amendment of May 24, 2000

A deed drawn up or an authentication made by a public notary before the entry into force of this resolution is valid if it meets the requirements of the former or the new law.

Transitional Provision for the Amendment of October 25, 2017

A deed drawn up or an authentication made by a public notary before the entry into force of this resolution is valid if it meets the requirements of the former or the new law.

1 This Act was enacted as an ordinance subject to an optional referendum: GS 19-597 with amendments from November 18, 2009 (Justice Ordinance, GS 22-82r), from November 23, 2011 (Implementation of Partial Revision of the Civil Code, GS 23-18b), from September 14, 2011 (Introductory Act to the Swiss Civil Code, GS 23-14d), from September 25, 2013 (Cantonal Council Resolution Adaptation to New Cantonal Constitution, GS 23-80j), from December 17, 2013 (Government Council Resolution Adaptation to New Cantonal Constitution, GS 23-97), from October 25, 2017 (Cantonal Council Resolution Updating of Justice Legislation and Optimization of the Organization of Criminal Prosecution Authorities, GS 25-9g) and from February 21, 2024 (GS 27-28).

 SR 210.

 Preamble as amended on October 25, 2017.

 Para. 2 as amended on September 25, 2013; Para. 1 as amended on October 25, 2017.

 SRSZ 210.100.

 Para. 1 letters a to c as amended and Para. 1 letter d newly inserted on February 21, 2024.

 Para. 2 as amended on February 21, 2024.

 Para. 3 newly inserted on February 21, 2024.

 Para. 2 as amended on February 21, 2024.

 Heading, Para. 1 letter b as amended and letter c repealed on October 25, 2017, former letters d to f become letters c to e, Para. 2 newly inserted on October 25, 2017, former Para. 2 becomes Para. 3; Para. 1 as amended on February 21, 2024.

 Para. 5 as amended on October 25, 2017; Para. 3 as amended on February 21, 2024.

 Para. 1 letter a as amended on February 21, 2024.

 Newly inserted on September 14, 2011; Para. 1 as amended on October 25, 2017.

 Para. 2 as amended and Para. 3 newly inserted on February 21, 2024, former Para. 2 becomes Para. 3.

 Para. 3 newly inserted on November 23, 2011; former Para. 3 becomes Para. 4; Paras. 3 and 4 as amended on February 21, 2024.

 GS 17-133.

 Para. 1 as amended on September 25, 2013; Heading and Para. 3 as amended on December 17, 2013.

 Approved by the Federal Department of Justice and Police on September 11, 2000.

 Entered into force on January 1, 2001 (Abl 2000 1684); amendments from November 18, 2009 entered into force on January 1, 2010 (Abl 2010 1508), from November 23, 2011 on January 1, 2012 (Abl 2012 238), from September 14, 2011 on January 1, 2013 (Abl 2012 2962), from September 25, 2013 on January 1, 2014 (Abl 2013 2851), from December 17, 2013 on January 1, 2014 (Abl 2013 2974), from October 25, 2017 on February 1, 2018 (Abl 2018 83) and from February 21, 2024 on July 1, 2024 (Abl 2024 1250).