Procedures for the Imposition of Administrative Sanctions upon Notaries

Towards the end of 2016, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (“Ministry”) issued Regulation No. 61 of 2016 on Procedures for the Imposition of Administrative Sanctions upon Notaries (“Regulation 61/2016”), which were formulated by the government some time ago but which have only just recently been publicly circulated.
 
Regulation 61/2016 represents an implementation of Article 91A of Law No. 2 of 2014[1] on the Amendment to Law No. 30 of 2004 on Notaries (collectively referred to as the “Notary Law”),[2] which required further provisions to be set out pertaining to the following areas:
 

1.	The various types of administrative sanctions that apply to notaries; and
2.	Procedures for the imposition of said sanctions.

 
Types of Administrative Sanctions
 
In general, the Ministry may impose administrative sanctions upon any notaries who commit violations of any of the provisions set out under Articles 7 (1), 16 (1), 17 (1), 19 (2), 32 (1) to (3), 37 (1), 54 (1), 58 and 59 of the Notary Law.[3] These administrative sanctions vary and should be implemented in the following order (from minimum to maximum levels of severity):[4]
 

1.	Written warnings;
2.	Temporary suspensions;
3.	Honorable dismissals; and
4.	Dishonorable dismissals.

 
 
The gradual imposition of sanctions, as set out above, can be bypassed in cases involving certain types of violations. For example, notaries will be directly subject to dishonorable dismissals if they are found guilty of any criminal act and are sentenced to a five-year term of imprisonment by a court.[5] 
 
Imposition of Sanctions
 
The procedures involved in the imposition of the abovementioned administrative sanctions differ for each type of sanction, as described in the table below:
 
 

Type of Sanction	Basis for the Sanction Imposition	Procedure
Written warnings[6]	The notary in question commits any of the violations specified under Article 5 (1) of Regulation 61/2016, such as:   1. Failure to submit an official report on the notary’s oath-swearing ceremony, office address, notary signature sample and official red notary’s office seal to the relevant authorities; 2. Failure to undertake several mandatory activities, as described under Article 16 (1) of the Notary Law, including: a. Ensuring the confidentiality of any deeds which have been drawn up and all information relating to said deeds in accordance with the notary’s official oath; b. Accepting notary apprentices for internship purposes; and so forth; 3. Engaging in any prohibited activities, as described under Article 17 (1) of the Notary Law, specifically: a. Holding a dual position as an advocate, public official or civil servant; b. Being absent for a period of seven consecutive days without any legitimate reason being given; and so forth; 4. Possessing more than one office address; 5. Failure to provide free of charge notary services to underprivileged people in accordance with Article 37 paragraph (1) of the Notary Law; and so forth.	1. The Regional Notary Supervisory Council (Majelis Pengawas Daerah) will first summon and investigate any notary who has been reported for committing violations; 2. The Regional Notary Supervisory Council will then submit an official report of the investigation process to the Areal Notary Supervisory Council  (Majelis Pengawas Wilayah); 3. The Areal Notary Supervisory Council will assess the official report and impose the written-warning sanction upon the guilty notary. This type of sanction comprises of three specific stages, namely:[7] a. First written  warning; b. Second written warning (if the guilty notary fails to settle the problem or commits a further violation within 14 days of the issuance of the first written warning); and c. Third written warning (if the guilty notary fails to settle the problem or commits a further violation within 14 days of the issuance of the second written warning).
Temporary suspensions[8]	The guilty notary fails to settle the violation in question or engages in a further violation after the issuance of a third written warning.	1. The Areal Notary Supervisory Council may propose that the Central Notary Supervisory Council (Majelis Pengawas Pusat) imposes a temporary suspension; 2. The Central Notary Supervisory Council will investigate the proposal from the Areal Notary Supervisory Council and impose the temporary-suspension sanction upon the guilty notary.   Note that the temporary-suspension sanction is valid for between three and six months. The Central Notary Supervisory Council will determine several obligations that should be met by the guilty notary during said temporary-suspension period.
Honorable or dishonorable dismissals[9]	The guilty notary fails to fulfill the obligations determined by the Central  Notary Supervisory Council before the end of the temporary-suspension sanction period.	1. The Central Notary Supervisory Council may propose that the Ministry imposes the dismissal sanction; 2. Based on said proposal, the Ministry will impose either an honorable- or dishonorable-dismissal sanction upon the guilty notary.     Note that the dishonorable-dismissal sanction can only be imposed under the following conditions:[10] 1. The notary fails to satisfy the obligations mandated  by the Central Notary Supervisory Council before the end of the temporary-suspension sanction period; 2. While currently undergoing a temporary-suspension sanction, the notary commits a further violation which should also be subject to a similar sanction,; or 3. The notary is subject to three temporary-suspension sanctions within a single 12-month period.

 
It should be further noted that any notary who is dishonorably dismissed is required to transfer their documents (protocol) to another notary, as stipulated by the Ministry based on an appointment made by the Regional Notary Supervisory Council.  This transfer must be completed within 14 days of the notary in question being dismissed.[11]
 
Regulation 61/2016 has been in force since 30 December 2016._AP2