The Notariat has always been committed to the computerisation of the procedures concerning public deeds:
- In the late Nineties the system of online searches at the Conservatoria [State Registry] and Companies Register was implemented;
- In 2001 we introduced the standard computerised form that enabled all notaries to register their deeds via computer;
- In 2012 the digital transcription of notarial deeds in the Territorial Agency marked the complete computerisation of the notarial function, such that Italy jumped significantly in the world competitiveness rankings for Doing Business, in the Property Registration sector, allowing our country to offer better conditions than Spain, the UK, Japan, Germany and France;
- The picture was completed with the introduction in 2013 of the computerised public document that already allows the creation of a totally computerised deed, digitally signed by the parties and by the notary. The deed is then stored in accordance with regulations at the National Council of Notaries maintaining all the benefits of certainty and durability of the notarised document.
In the corporate sector, too, computerisation of the system has given Italy a big boost in the world Doing Business rankings, now making the conditions for the establishment of a business equal to the US and better than Switzerland, Luxembourg, Japan, Austria and Germany.
In 2013 the Notariat launched the Rete Aste Notarili [RAN or Notarial Auctions Network], whereby disposal of the properties of public bodies is handled in a totally computerised manner. The RAN allows citizens to purchase a property simply by going to the office of any of the participating notaries throughout the country without having to travel to the place at which the auction is held.
The Notariat is also working with all those involved for the manifesto on succession and digital identity, two fields in which it is making all its experience available to citizens to ensure that, in the digital world too, they enjoy the right combination of simplicity and certainty of data.
The economic value of the public function of the notary in this area is also demonstrated by the request from the American Bar Association for the participation of three Italian notaries in the task force set up with representatives of the White House and the FBI to find effective solutions to problems associated with digital identity management and the prevention of electronic fraud. In the housing market in particular these problems led among other things to the falsification of thousands of documents prepared to facilitate the expropriation of borrowers’ property (“foreclosure-gate” and “robo-signing”).
