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Digital identity, personal data protection, cryptocurrency, blockchain and smart contracts were at the heart of the debates and proposals put forward at the latest Congrès des notaires de France 2021. Debates and reflections animated the many notaries and other professionals present in Nice. Congress president Olivier Herrnberger looks back on the highlights of this important event for the entire legal community.
Numerous events dealt with the impact of the digital revolution on all rules of law. Why is this one more, along with the congress of notaries ?
Most studies deal with the impact of digital technology on practice or ways of working. There is no study on such a broad field as the 900-page book we have written over two years, which looks at the consequences of digitalization on personal rights, property rights and contracts. What sets us apart is the fact that we confronted digitization with the fundamental principles of property and personal law, to measure their compatibility.
– What were your main contributions ?
First and foremost, we highlighted the fact that digitalization does not imply a revolution in our legal system, or a “great night” for the law. French legal concepts are perfectly capable of accommodating and operating new developments with the same level of security as traditional assets. In most cases, it’s a question of qualification, which requires the lawyer to understand how the new assets or new ways of contracting work. For example, it’s by understanding how a crypto asset or a social network account works that we can determine the legal regime applicable to it.
We then put forward a number of proposals to the public authorities. We propose, for example, that access to the Internet, which is becoming increasingly essential to both professional and private lives, should be protected by law. This would mean, for example, that at least one digital tool for each individual would be exempt from seizure, and that, for people subject to protective measures, the law would preserve the means of access to social networks for as long as possible, and organize access by guardians to bank accounts using personal codes rather than usurping those of the person they are protecting.
On a more technical note, we propose that smart contracts be classified as payment methods, so as to give them a clear legal status in the civil code. To make the use of electronic signatures more reliable and facilitate their circulation, we also propose that service providers be obliged to clearly indicate on each signature the level of certification it has under the Eidas Regulation.
– To what extent are notaries reinventing and developing their profession under the influence of digital technology, after having been pioneers? What’s the latest on blockchain in the notarial profession?
Without going back over the issues of authentication and certification, blockchain is an interesting tool that can be imagined as a complement to the functions performed by the legal professions. There’s what it is and what it does, and what it isn’t and what it doesn’t do. If it stores data, it does not ensure its veracity or legality, for example. Nor does it give advice. A tool is currently being developed under the aegis of the Paris Chamber of Notaries. Today, notaries’ activities are largely dematerialized, and the vast majority of our deeds are drawn up digitally. In fact, we have just passed the milestone of 20 million electronic documents by October 2021. Today, notaries have gone beyond the tools stage and are starting to deal with digital assets in their offices, whether it’s a question of transferring them, passing them on or settling their fate in a divorce.
– How do you see your business in 5/10 years ?
The development of tools and artificial intelligence should lead us to spend less time on repetitive tasks or audit work (analysis of signed contracts, detection of asset irregularities, etc.) and to devote more time to listening to the customer, contextualizing his project and building his contractual or asset strategy. I can therefore see my activity being less burdened by material tasks and more focused on the heart of my mission: listening, advising and supporting human situations.
The 117th congress of notaries, held in Nice from September 23 to 25, 2021, was dedicated to Digital, People and the Law.
Because digital technology impacts our daily professional and personal lives, and because it is essential to examine its impact on the rule of law and the practice of law, the theme of this congress leads to new reflections and fuels debates, well beyond the notarial sphere.
Among the proposals voted on were: clarifying personal data law after digital death, supporting protected persons in the digital world, adapting the Civil Code to the digital revolution by integrating the notion of distanciel (beyond deeds and signatures).
