Burundi, the 92nd member of The International Union of Notaries (UINL).

The quest of notaries in one of the poorest countries in the world

Abstract

In the autumn of 2024, Burundi was admitted to become a member of the UINL. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, more than 95% of the population lives below the subsistence level, and public services (education, healthcare, etc.) do not exist, except for a few larger cities. In order to join the UINL, the Burundian legislature has created a modern legal environment for notaries based on the French model. The renewed rules give Burundian notaries exclusive jurisdiction in a number of areas, thus supporting the financial background essential for the independence of the notarial profession. However, the new legislation adopted on notaries perhaps inevitably contains simplifications which are sometimes surprising from the European perspective. In this article, the author analyses the extent to which these facilitations resulting from adaptation to the social environment affect the legality of the operation of the notarial institutional system. She also examines whether an institutional system which is to meet the European requirements of our era can be viable in such an environment which lags behind, whether the notarial profession which fulfils the requirements formulated as a condition for accession can be a driving force for Burundi, or whether it will certainly fit into the range of dysfunctional state institutions.