Notarial Law and Organization of the Notarial Function
What the domain tests
This domain examines the legal architecture of the Cuban notarial function: who acts as notary, what fe pública means, how notarías are organized under the Ministerio de Justicia (MINJUS), and how the protocolo notarial is kept. Questions often turn on the difference between the matriz and the testimonio, the notary’s duty to qualify a transaction, and the limits of notarial competence.
Core rules
- The notario público is a public official exercising fe pública. The notary does not represent either party and cannot convert an unlawful transaction into a valid one.
- Notarial output is either an escritura pública (contracts, wills, powers) or an acta (notoriedad, presencia, protocolización).
- The matriz is the authorized original retained in the protocolo. The testimonio is the copy issued with the clause “concuerda con su original,” the protocol number, date, and authorized signature.
- The protocolo belongs to the office, not to the individual notary. On closure, transfer, or retirement, protocols go to the archivo notarial; copies are then requested from the archive or successor office.
- Competence is territorial and subject-matter based. A notary should not authorize a deed outside the district or beyond the notarial function.
- Before authorizing, the notary qualifies: identity and capacity of grantors, title, absence of prohibited charges, legality of the object, and payment of taxes or fees.
- Refusal must be reasoned. The notary records the defect and may issue a nota de calificación; the party may cure and return.
Worked example
A client brings a 2016 sale deed and asks for “the original.” The notary explains that the original is the matriz in the protocolo and cannot be handed out. The client needs a testimonio. The notary locates the protocol number, checks the matriz, and issues a testimonio with the exact transcription, the clause “concuerda con su original,” the date, and the office seal. If the authorizing notary has retired, the testimonio is requested from the archivo notarial or the successor office.
Traps that cost marks
- Saying the notary “certifies ownership”; ownership is registered in the Registro de la Propiedad.
- Treating a testimonio as the matriz or as a simple photocopy.
- Ignoring territorial competence or the notary’s duty to refuse an illegal act.
- Assuming the notary can authenticate facts that require an acta de notoriedad or judicial proof.
- Forgetting that protocol custody follows the office, not the notary personally.