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 German Notariate of the Republic of Lithuania
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An important position in the legal system is occupied by the notariate, the objectives of which are to enforce the indisputable rights of natural and legal persons and to ensure that illicit transactions and documents are avoided in civil legal relationships. Lithuanian notariates may be traced back to the 13th century when the state of Lithuania was formed. Bookkeepers (notarii) were commonly monks. According to the 1588 Statute of Lithuania, notarial duties were performed by court bookkeepers. Following the third division of the Lithuanian-Polish state in 1795, the largest part of Lithuania became the possession of Russia; however, the Statute was in force until 1840. After the independence of Lithuania in 1918, the primary source of material law in the Russian Empire was the civil laws contained in the Civil Code, the so-called Volume X. The Code of Napoleon was in force in the UZnemune district, while in the Palanga territories, which were attributed to Lithuania from the former Kursas province, the czarist Russian civil laws for the Baltic territories were applied. The Klaipeda district was subject to German civil laws. The civil legal systems which were in force in Lithuania also included the Notariate Regulations to be followed in notarial activities. In 1939, 26 notary offices with 65 notaries (63 men and two women) were functioning in Lithuania (except for the Klaipeda district, which was occupied by Germany). Many outstanding lawyers such as the ex-Minister of Justice, Mr Aleksandras Zilinskas (known as the reformer of the courts), the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice Mr Povilas Brazaitis, a well known poet, Mr Pranas Lembertas and others worked as notaries. The pre-war Lithuanian notariate was destroyed during the sovietisation of Lithuania in 1940. All the notaries were dismissed by the occupying authorities and substituted by "workers, farmers and labour intelligentsia". Many notaries were persecuted. Jonas Dikinis, a notary of Kaunas town, was detained on 12 July 1940. He spent 14 years in exile, and was released to "freedom˛ just after Stalin's death. Aleksandras Zilinskas died in exile in the Archangelsk district, Julius Indrisiunas in the Kirovas camp. The Siauliai town notary, Vladas Kaveckas, was arrested by the Bolsheviks in 1940 and imprisoned in Siauliai and Telsiai prisons. On 25 June 1941, together with other prisoners he was tortured in the most cruel manner and without any trial. The result of the soviet amalgamation of notary offices was 20 regional notary offices and 38 state notaries. The era of the modern, free or Latin Notariate started when the Notariate of the Republic of Lithuania Act became effective on 1 December 1992. The reform was successful and the Lithuanian notariate was one of the first (on 11 February 1994) to be admitted to the International Union of Latin Notaries (Union Internationale du Notariat Latin). UINL is a world-wide union of national notarial organizations established on 2 October 1948. A meeting of notaries of the Republic of Lithuania approved the statute of Notary Houses, and elected the Presidium, Inspection Committee and Court of Honour of Notary Houses on 12 February 1993. Mrs Ramute Siliuniene, notary of Kaunas district, was elected the President of Notary Houses. A loan from Germany made it possible to buy modest facilities for the Notary Houses of the Republic of Lithuania. By 1 January 1991, Lithuania had 53 notary offices with 129 notaries employed. At present, Lithuania has 125 notary offices and 193 notaries; 193 is the maximum number of notaries set forth by Order of the Minister of Justice. In 1994, Mrs Janina Girniene, notary of the 5th notary office of Vilnius town, was elected President of the Notary Houses. In 1996, she was re-elected President for a second term of office. Though these are just the first steps of the Latin-type notariate in Lithuania, the majority of notaries have already proved that they are capable of working honestly, thinking freely and ensuring that illicit transactions and documents are avoided in civil relations. It would not be true to claim that all problems have been solved, but the notaries are optimistic and ready to direct all their efforts to the development of the legal system in keeping with Lithuania's independence.
Notariate of the Republic of Lithuania
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 The Presidium of the Notary Houses of Lithuania.
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