The Gazette 1975

the particular region. The regional Caisee must settle all claims arising within its territory. It must give 75'A of its lunds to the Central Caisse thereby eliminating the earlier problem of local funds reaching dispro- portionate levels. In addition, to the last mentioned source of income; the central Caisse has a second source of finance, name- ly, a capital payment made by each Notairc on qualify - ing. The funds of the central Caisse are used for basi- cally two purposes, an emergency fund for any regional Caisse not having sufficient funds to meet a particular claim and secondly, a loan fund available 'o those seek- ing to enter the profession, enabling them to undertake their studies and ultimately to purchase a practice. Apart from being obliged to contribute to the com- pensation fund, the Notaire is also compelled to take professional ncgligencc insurance. The professional neg- ligence policy covers the Notaire's civil liability while the compensation fund covers his penal (delictual) lia- bility. The public, as clients of the Notaire, are thus completely protected in their dealings with the mem- bers of :hc profession. The Notaires were not affcctcd by the reform of 1972, which, it will be called, comprised a modest fusion of various branches of the legal profession. The exemption of the Notaircs from :hese reforms is indicative of the extent to which their position in the French framework is so firmly established and well defined. It is likclv that any future reforms affccting Notaires will be made entirely independent of the other branches of the legal profession. No major reforms are contemplated at the moment. The Avoué, who is principally concerned wi:h the procedural aspects of litigation, has retained his pre- vious status in so far cs Appeal Courts are concerned. For all other purposes, the Avoué has been merged into the profession of Avocat. Thiis, in the present slate of French litigation, the case will normally be conducted by a single Avocat up to the hearing in the Court of first instance. If an appeal is lodged, the Avocat is obliged to instruct an Avoué 'o act in conjunction with him for the purposes of the appeal hearing. This is clearly an unsatisfacory situation. It runs contrary to several of the main objectives behind the 1972 reforms, particularly the intended saving in litigation cos's. Of course, the latter problem can be avoided if the orig- inal Avocat instructed was previously an Avoué. In practice, however, litigants rarely have regard to this consideration. As might be expected in the event of a fusion in Ireland or Great Britain, one of the immediate effects in Francc was a rush on the part of the Avocats to rssimilatc former Avoués into their Cabinets, particul- ?rly in the case of firms having a large litigation prac- tice. This tendency and the overall effects of the fusion 81 Avoucs and Agrees The Avoués and Agréés have been the two branches of :he profession most affected by the 1972 reforms. The Agree, who had a monopoly of pdvocacy before the Commercial Courts, has been completely fused into the profession of Avocat.

not aires (6,260 in 1973) is actuallv less than that of Avocats (7,600 in 1973). As he is invested with the characteristics of a local régistrat, a Notaire cannot for obvious reasons, authen- ticate a document outside his own district. This fol- lows from the rule that only the Notairc attached to the district in which the document . is passed can authenticate it. Thus, unlike the Avocat, in rcspeet of his essential function of pleading, the Notaire in his principal function of authenticating documents, has a monopoly in his own district and a total restriction outside it. However, he can receive, anywhere in France and indeed all over the world, a document valid as an ordinary private deed ( Acte sous scing privé) and therefore having no authentic character or executory force. If the parties then wish the document to be made an Acfe authentique, they will usually give powers of attorney ( pouvoirs) to the No'aire's clcrcs, enabling the latter to sign on their behalf 'he acte authentique which the Notaire will hen draw and have passed at his office (Etude). This chiefly occurs where the Nolaire at'ends the closing of a sale out- side his own district. If one compares the administration of a Notaire's practice with that of a Solicitor, some interesting dif- ferences arise in relation to the handling of client monies, the compensation fund and the obligation to ensure against profession negligence. Notaires are not obliged to maintain separate clicnt and office accounts, though in practice, the internal bookkeeping system will naturally differentiate between funds received from a client for the benefit of the Notairc and those held on behalf of a clicnt for his own benefit. It follows that the control of funds held by a Notaire is more intense than the system in Ireland of furnishing an accountant's ccrtificatc. The Notaire's accounts are examined annually by inspectors attached to the local Bar ( Conseil Regional du Notariat ). More- over occasional spot chccks arc carried out in cases where such intervention is necessary. This has the important effect that the local Bar can intervene, through its own duly appointed officers, at least once a year and at any other t ime to examine the financial affairs of any practising notaire. The Notaire is also controlled in his choice of bank- ers i.e. can use only certain semi-state banks, namely the Caisse des Depots et des Consignations, Credit Agri- cole, and Comptes Postaux. Funds deposited in these institutions arc used by the State, notably for state loan transactions. The Notaire's compensation fund — la Caisse de Garantie — was inaugurated in 1934 and reformed in 1955, due mainly to dcfects in the original sys'oni, notably costly administrative expenses and an accumu- lative of enormous funds out of proportion to the numbers of claims settled from the compensation fund. The 1955 legislation established a Caisse (Fund) in each region of France under the control of the local Bar >n addition to a Centrrl Caisse under the control of the Supreme Council of the Notarial profession (Cou- seil shpéricur du Notariat). This structure replaces the Multitude of local caisses which existed hitherto. Each regional Cnisse receives its funds in the form °f annual contributions from Notaircs practising in