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Dr. Peter Stelmaszczyk, Minister of Justice of Republic of Lithuania Ewelina Dobrowolska and Marius Stračkaitis (photo by Martynas Ambrazas)
At the handover ceremony held in Vilnius on Thursday 11 January, Lithuanian notary Marius Stračkaitis became the new president of the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE) for 2024. He takes over from German notary Peter Stelmaszczyk and now represents the 22 notariats of the European Union (EU) and 50 000 notaries in Europe. In the presence of high-level figures, such as the Lithuanian Minister of Justice, Ewelina Dobrowolska, President Marius Stračkaitis outlined the priorities of his work programme for the coming months, in the context of the European elections to be held in June.
Notaries contribute to the provision of non-contentious justice, which helps to avoid costly disputes. For this reason, notaries are increasingly being called upon by lawmakers in many Member States to lighten the administrative, judicial and financial burdens: settlement of successions, protection of vulnerable adults, celebration of marriages, amicable settlement of divorces, etc. This transfer of tasks to notaries increases the efficiency of proceedings and thus promotes citizens’ access to justice. For this reason, the Lithuanian Presidency of the CNUE intends to focus on sharing experience between notariats and will promote the use of preventive justice procedures in the adoption of future EU legislation.
Important files are being adopted by the European institutions and will have an impact on the activities of notaries: creation of a European Digital Identity Wallet, Artificial Intelligence Act, extension and improvement of the use of digital tools and processes in company law, etc. In this context, the CNUE is positioning itself as a promoter of the principle of legal certainty by default. It considers it essential that the development of digital solutions in a cross-border context does not undermine legal certainty and works with the European institutions in this direction.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, the CNUE has been committed with Ukrainian citizens and notaries. This institutional, material and legal support will continue and intensify in 2024, focusing not only on the ongoing reform and digitalisation of the notarial system, but also on the extension of assistance provided to notaries and their families affected by the war. A conference will be organised in Vilnius on 13 September 2024 and will serve as a platform for discussions on future cooperation between the CNUE, the Ukrainian notariat and the Ukrainian and European institutions.
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Marius Stračkaitis has been a notary in Klaipėda (Lithuania) since 1999.
He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Vilnius. From 1995 to 2003, he worked as a professor of law at the University of Klaipėda. From 2006 to 2008, he was appointed Vice-President of the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries. He has been President of the Chamber since 2008. Since 2014, Marius Stračkaitis has been a member of the General Council of the International Union of Latin Notaries (UINL). He is also the author of numerous publications and a member of working groups dedicated to the preparation of laws and other legal acts.
