Notarial Code of Honduras

The organization and functioning of the institution of the Notariat, as well as the rights, duties and responsibilities of the Notary shall be governed by the provisions contained in this Code. SECOND SECTION THE NOTARIAT AND THE NOTARIAL FUNCTION

The Notariat is the institution of the State that guarantees legal security and perpetual documentation of acts, contracts and dispositions between living persons and those effective upon death; as well as non-contentious matters determined in this and other laws, which are voluntarily submitted to the knowledge and decision of the notarial function.

The notarial function is that function of public and social interest which the State delegates to persons authorized in the manner established by the Constitution and the laws, to be exercised with full responsibility and autonomy, in accordance with the requirements and conditions established in this Code and its Regulations. The notarial function is incompatible with the performance of public offices or positions that receive a salary and have annexed jurisdiction, this latter being understood as the power or authority that public officials and employees have, individually or collectively, to govern and implement the application of laws in the jurisdictional or administrative order, without prejudice to exceptions provided for in special laws. The exercise of the notarial function is non-delegable. The notary must exercise their functions in a personal, technical, impartial and independent manner with the proper decorum and dignity that corresponds. Notaries must use in all acts in which they intervene as testimony of their authority, an official seal that expresses their name and surname and their character as notary. Contravention of this provision shall incur the Notary in civil, administrative and criminal responsibility provided for in the laws.

The notarial function is exercised within national territory on business and non-business days and hours. Likewise, it may be carried out abroad provided that the act or contract is to take effect in Honduras regardless of the nationality of the parties. CHAPTER II THE NOTARY FIRST SECTION DEFINITION

A Notary is a legal professional with the character of public faith, authorized by the State to document the creation, transmission, modification or extinction or resolution of acts, contracts and matters or transactions in which they intervene at the request or petition of the interested parties or by disposition of Law.

Justices of the Peace with legal qualifications may exercise the notarial function within the scope of their territorial competence solely with regard to wills, when there is no qualified Notary established in their jurisdiction. SECOND SECTION REQUIREMENTS

To be a Notary the following is required:

• 1)

  To be Honduran by birth and in the free exercise of civil rights;

• 2)

  To be a lawyer;

• 3)

  To be at least thirty (30) years of age;

• 4)

  To be of recognized honorability and prestige;

• 5)

  To be of lay status;

• 6)

  To pass the Notary examination before the Supreme Court of Justice in accordance with the special regulation issued by the same; and,

• 7)

  To obtain the exequatur of Notary.

The interested party in obtaining authorization to exercise the Notariat must present a written petition to the Supreme Court of Justice, through the Office of the Comptroller of the Notariat, accompanied by documents that accredit the items referred to in the previous article. The Office of the Comptroller shall conduct an investigation by means that it deems appropriate concerning the life and customs and other aspects of personal and professional conduct of the applicant as determined in the Special Regulations that the Supreme Court of Justice shall issue for this purpose.

The Supreme Court of Justice must maintain through the Office of the Comptroller of the Notariat a register of signatures and seals of Notaries, with the latter being obligated to notify said Office of the Comptroller, within the following fifteen (15) days, of any modification subsequently made to their signature or seal. The omission or late sending of information shall constitute a serious fault in the exercise of the notarial function. The Office of the Comptroller of the Notariat provides to judges, Courts and Property Registries of the country the signature and seal of Notaries and subsequent modifications made thereto, for which purpose the interested parties shall present sufficient sheets on plain paper signed and sealed, preceded by a note that reads "Signature and Seal that the undersigned Notary shall use".

The following may not exercise the notarial function:

• 1)

  Those civilly incapacitated;

• 2)

  Those who suffer from any other physical or mental incapacity that prevents them from giving faith to acts and contracts;

• 3)

  Those deprived of the exercise of the notarial function until they have been rehabilitated; and,

• 4)

  Those whose exequatur has been suspended or canceled by the competent authority. THIRD SECTION DISABILITIES AND IMPEDIMENTS

It is the duty of Notaries to maintain confidentiality regarding the acts and contracts or facts of which they have knowledge in the exercise of their function, and not to reveal information that their clients have entrusted to them in confidence.

The obligations of the Notary are:

• 1)

  To authorize public instruments in accordance with instructions given orally or in writing by the parties;

• 2)

  To form protocols of the deeds that are authorized and of the documents and directives that are protocolled; as well as to form the files of the other proceedings in which they intervene;

• 3)

  To give to the interested parties the copies and certifications that they request in accordance with Law, of the instruments, minutes and of the resolutions that they have authorized or issued;

• 4)

  To maintain a Copy Book of the envelopes of the closed wills that they authorize;

• 5)

  To custodian the documents that their clients have entrusted to them and not permit their exhibition or withdrawal without authorization from the same;

• 6)

  To countersign with their signature and seal stamped with blue ink, the documents in which the acts and contracts that they authorize and other proceedings in which they intervene are contained;

• 7)

  To record in the testimonies of the public deeds that protect ownership rights, the transfers, encumbrances and any other act or contract authorized by them, which modify them;

• 8)

  To inform, and in its case, answer to the Office of the Comptroller of the Notariat for the loss, disappearance, destruction or replacement of the protocol and seal;

• 9)

  To submit to the Office of the Comptroller of the Notariat within the first three (3) months of each year, the Protocol of the master deeds authorized during the previous year, with the respective index and properly bound. The Notary must keep complete photocopies of the Protocol, which shall have the same value and legal force as the master deeds;

• 10)

  To authorize the other acts and proceedings determined by the laws; and,

• 11)

  Repealed.

Notaries are prohibited from:

• 1)

  Permitting that notarial proceedings be carried out in their protocol by other persons;

• 2)

  Charging fees lower than those established in the corresponding Fee Schedule;

• 3)

  Giving faith to the authenticity of signatures that they have not witnessed or that they do not know or of copies of documents that they have not compared with their originals;

• 4)

  Authorizing acts or contracts with a date different from that of the notarial proceeding;

• 5)

  Permitting documents to be removed from their archive that are under their custody by reason of their profession, except by court order or requirement of the Office of the Comptroller of the Notariat; and,

• 6)

  Revealing secrets inherent to their function. CHAPTER III PUBLIC INSTRUMENTS FIRST SECTION DEFINITION, CONTENT AND NULLITY

Public instruments are public deeds, minutes, and in general, any document or proceeding in non-contentious matters in which the Notary intervenes or authorizes, whether the original or a copy. The content of public deeds consists of declarations of will, legal acts that imply a grant of consent and contracts of all kinds. The content of notarial minutes must refer exclusively to facts which by their peculiar nature cannot be classified as acts or contracts.

Public instruments must be drafted in Spanish language using clear, pure, precise style, without obscure or ambiguous phrases or terms, observing truth in concept, propriety in language and severity in form. Documents may be written, indifferently, by machine or by electronic means with black ink, without abbreviations and without leaving blank spaces. Exceptionally and in cases where the aforementioned means are not available, the instrument may be drafted in handwritten form. Once one of these means has been selected in the drafting of each instrument, the other may not be used for making additions, marginal notes, corrections, interlineations and strikeouts. The aforementioned corrections are valid provided that they are saved at the end of the instrument. When ciphers, symbols or numbers or expression of dates or amounts must be used in public instruments, what has been expressed in numbers or symbols must be indicated in words.

Public instruments must contain:

• 1)

  The serial number corresponding to them written in letters and numbers; as well as the place, day, month and year of execution and, where applicable, the time;

• 2)

  The name, surname, address and registration number of the Notary in the Supreme Court of Justice, written in letters and numbers and the address of the notarial office;

• 3)

  Name and surname of the grantor or grantors, address, their condition of being of legal age, or the minimum age of the minor when it is a matter of making a will, if they are of legal age, their marital status, profession or trade and nationality, when required by law;

• 4)

  The affirmation that, according to the statement of the grantors, they are in the exercise of their civil rights;

• 5)

  Reason for having reviewed the public instruments that accredit, where applicable, the power of attorney or representation of the parties appearing when acting on behalf of another, and the express and categorical indication that in accordance with said power of attorney they have the necessary powers or the representation is sufficient for the execution of the act or contract;

• 6)

  The intervention of an interpreter designated by the person who does not know the Spanish language, who shall promise faithful performance of their task and shall also sign the instrument;

• 7)

  The relation of the act or contract or legal fact, with its particular characteristics; and, where applicable, the proceedings of the non-contentious matter submitted to the notarial function;

• 8)

  The mention of having reviewed the respective authorization for the execution of the act or contract in cases where required by Law;

• 9)

  To inform the grantors of the right granted to them by law to read the instrument themselves or to proceed at their request to its full reading for their acceptance, ratification and signature;

• 10)

  To warn the grantors about the obligation to proceed with the registration of the act or contract or resolution, when applicable;

• 11)

  The notary's knowledge of the grantors or the indication of the documents used for their identification;

• 12)

  The signature and digital fingerprint of the index finger of the right hand and, failing that, of the left hand, and in the absence of that of any other, of the grantors, witnesses of knowledge where applicable, in addition to the signature and seal of the Notary. The Notary must certify the circumstances that make it impossible for the grantors or witnesses, where applicable, to sign or provide a digital fingerprint; and, 12) Any requirement required by special laws.

Public instruments must be drafted in observance of the provisions of this Law and other laws of the country; and Notaries shall be responsible for any irregularity committed in their drafting and authorization.

Without prejudice to the grounds for nullity set forth in other laws, the following public instruments are null:

• 1)

  Those that contain provisions in favor of the Notary, his or her spouse or relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity who authorize it;

• 2)

  Those whose grantors are relatives of the authorizing Notary in the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity. Likewise, wills in which the clerks, employees or relatives of the Notary or the grantor appear as witnesses within the same degrees of relationship shall be null. In instruments authorizing marriage, it is permitted for relatives of the notary and the contracting parties to act as witnesses.

• 3)

  Those that do not have the designation of the place, date and time in notarial acts and wills in which they were executed;

• 4)

  When the instrument is authorized without the assistance of an interpreter and the grantor does not know the Spanish language, except when the Notary knows the grantor's language; and,

• 5)

  Those in which the Notary does not certify the appearance of the grantors, or the signature and fingerprint of any of them, or of the witnesses in the cases specified by law, is missing, or when the Notary does not certify the circumstances that make it impossible for any of them to sign or provide a fingerprint, or the Notary's signature and seal is missing.

A master deed is the original drafted by the Notary regarding the act or contract submitted to his authorization, with the signature and fingerprint of the grantors, witnesses in the cases provided for by Law and the Notary and his seal. The master deed must contain:

• 1)

  The heading;

• 2)

  The appearance;

• 3)

  The recital;

• 4)

  The stipulation;

• 5)

  The execution; and,

• 6)

  The authorization.

Master deeds must be executed on special legal-size paper, free of acid, authorized by the Supreme Court of Justice, one after another, in strict chronological order, with no space between them other than what is absolutely necessary for the corresponding signatures, fingerprints and seal. For the purposes of the annotations that must be recorded in the master deed, five (5) lines shall be left after the Notary's signature.

A notarial act is the public instrument that the Notary authorizes, at the request of the interested party or by operation of law, in which the facts and circumstances that he witnesses or that are declared before him or that are known to him are recorded. The provisions relating to master deeds are applicable to notarial acts, insofar as they are compatible with the nature of the act or fact that is the subject matter of the same. The Notary must record in the notarial act the place, date and time of the proceedings, the name, legal age, marital status, profession or trade, nationality and address of the persons who have requested it and the detailed relation of the facts. Notarial acts must be authorized in the protocol or outside of it, in the corresponding legal form. Those that appear in the protocol shall be included in the index and copies thereof shall be issued to the interested parties in as many copies as they request in legal form, without determining their status as first, second or subsequent copies. Notaries must maintain a file of copies of the acts they authorize that do not appear in the protocol.

The Notary may certify the physical existence of persons, recording that fact in the act that he authorizes for that purpose, in which, in addition to what is indicated in this Law, he shall express the means by which he obtained undoubted identification of the person whose existence is certified.

The Notary may authorize notarial acts in his protocol to testify by exhibition of public or private documents at the request of the interested party. In the proceeding, the Notary shall certify the accuracy of the material copy of the literal text of the document, without assuming responsibility for the veracity of its content and without modifying the legal nature of the reproduced document. More than one document may be testified by exhibition in the same act. The Notary may testify by exhibition documents in any language other than Spanish. In this case, it shall be understood that his certification refers only to the accuracy of the material copy of the text and not of its content. He may also certify the content when he knows the foreign language.

The protocolization of public or private documents ordered by the court or requested by private parties for the purposes indicated in the laws must be accomplished through the following formalities:

• 1)

  The act must be extended with the relation of the judicial order that orders it or the request of the parties;

• 2)

  The document must be attached to the protocol and, where applicable, the corresponding proceedings;

• 3)

  The presence and signature of the judge who ordered the protocolization shall not be necessary;

• 4)

  When issuing a copy, the text of the act shall be reproduced first and then the corresponding protocolized document; and,

• 5)

  The number of pages containing the proceedings that the Notary shall sign and paginate must be expressed. By the protocolization, the document does not acquire greater force, validity or legal efficacy than those that originally correspond to it. Private documents, however, acquire a certain date as of the protocolization.

Notaries may certify the authenticity of signatures when they have been placed in their presence or when they previously knew said signatures, whether of private individuals or public officials, and in the latter case must express that circumstance and that at the time of their execution the official was or is in the exercise of his functions. The notarial authentication has the value of a reliable testimony of the signature, without giving the content of the document greater legal force than that which corresponds to it in itself.

Notaries may also certify the authenticity of photocopies, photographs or any other technological reproductions, provided they are identical to their originals. For the validity of this class of authentications, it shall be necessary to briefly relate the documents in question, also indicating the place or in whose possession the respective originals are located. The authentications shall be extended in the Certificate of Authenticity that is issued. Authentications that do not meet the requirements set forth in this article shall have no value.

Notaries who are required to authenticate abroad signatures or documents that must have effect in the country, if they do not have available in the place the Certificate of Authenticity, must record this circumstance and shall warn the interested parties of the obligation they have to affix for its legal efficacy the corresponding certificate of authenticity and the respective stamp, which must be paid by the authority before whom the authenticated documents are presented or invoked.

A copy is the literal and authentic transcript of the master deed that the grantors and all persons in whose favor any right is created or recognized in the Deed have the right to obtain, whether directly or indirectly or by subsequent act. In any case, the character in which the interested party requests the copy must be expressed in the issuance note. Copies must be issued after the master deed has been authorized. The Notary is obliged to warn the grantors of the obligation to register the copy in the corresponding registry, when required by law; which shall be recorded in the final part of the instrument. Two (2) or more copies may be issued, but each interested party cannot claim from the Notary more than one. When a copy is issued, the respective annotation shall be made indicating the name of the person or persons for whom the first copy is issued and the Notary shall affix his half signature and seal. Only Notaries, and in the absence of these, the public officials under whose custody the protocols are kept, can issue copies in the manner indicated in this article.

When a photostatic, photographic or any other technological copy of a public instrument is made and there are no stamps or special paper available in the area, they may be replaced by the proof of payment issued by the authorized banking entity. The Notary must certify that he has reviewed said document, which in any case shall be attached to the copy of the corresponding instrument.

Copies of master deeds issued in the manner indicated in the preceding articles are deemed public instruments and must contain the citation of the protocol and the number that the Deed has in it and shall be issued indicating place and date, must be sealed and signed by the Notary or, failing that, by the competent official.

The copy must be complete and exact to the original deed. However, copies of certain clauses only may be issued, always inserting the preamble and final part of the original deed, when it contains several separate clauses or chapters, such as wills, partitions, settlements and acts of another nature, provided that the meaning and effects of the other clauses or chapters are not altered.

The Notary is obliged to place at the foot or margin of the copies or testimony documents presented to him as precedents, a note that expresses the place and date of execution and the nature of the act or contract that he authorizes related to said precedents.

To issue copies, whether photocopies, photostatic, photographic, digital images or any other issued by electronic means, the protocol or its authorized copy must be legally in the possession of the Notary who authorized the respective original.

In case of loss, disappearance or unusability of the photocopies of the protocol in the Notary's possession, copies shall be issued by the competent official of the Notary Control Office. In case of temporary absence of the Notary or if he suffers physical impediment, copies of the deeds may be issued by another Notary in whom the protocol has been deposited and if no designation has been made or in case of permanent absence of the Notary, the issuance must be done by the Notary Control Office. Electronic Center for Documentation and Judicial Information

Judicial Branch of Honduras SECTION SIX THE NOTARIAL PROTOCOL

Protocol is the chronologically ordered collection of original deeds authorized by the Notary and the documents and proceedings that he protocolizes during the year. The protocol may consist of one or more bound volumes, paginated and with the other requirements established by this Law, which must be written on the special paper that is issued.

The protocols are the patrimony of society under the custody of the State. Notaries are depositories of the originals while they remain in their possession and permanent depositories of the photocopies of such originals that remain in their archive once they have sent them to the Supreme Court of Justice, as ordered in Article 12, numeral 9) of this Law. Notaries shall not permit any document that is under their custody to be removed from their archive, by reason of their professional practice.

The protocols, while in the possession of the Notaries, must be guarded with due and absolute confidentiality and only those interested in the respective deed may be informed of its contents in the presence of the Notary. Said protocols as well as their photocopies may only be reviewed or inspected by judicial resolution or by the Notary Control Office for comparisons, handwriting recognition, signature verification and other similar purposes. The foregoing provisions shall not be applicable to wills and acknowledgments of children that, while the grantors live, may only be shown to them.

Notaries shall open their protocol on the first day they begin to exercise their functions, extending on the corresponding paper a note that reads as follows: "Protocol of the public instruments authorized by the undersigned Notary (name of the Notary) during the year of (here the year; shall determine the place where he opens the protocol, shall date it in letters, shall seal and sign it)". On the last day of each year or on the date that for any reason he ceases his functions, Notaries shall close their protocol with the following note: "The protocol of the public instruments authorized by the undersigned Notary during the present Electronic Center for Documentation and Judicial Information

Judicial Branch of Honduras year concludes and contains (so many instruments and so many useful pages)" shall be determined. He shall determine the place where he closes the protocol, shall date it in letters, shall seal and sign it. The opening and closing notes of the protocols shall be recorded on individual pages.

The protocol shall carry at the end an index containing, with respect to each instrument, the number of order, page, place and date, name of the grantors and witnesses in the cases provided by law, and the purpose of the act or contract and shall be extended on the corresponding paper.

If it is a closed will, the Notary must draw up the corresponding deed on the cover of the envelope and must transcribe it literally to the Protocol. The envelope that contains the will must be delivered to the testator or to the natural or legal person that he designates, and the provisions of the Civil Code shall apply.

The pages of the protocol must be paginated in letters and numbers. When the protocol consists of more than one volume, the number of order and the pages shall not be altered and the following shall be recorded in the volume that ends: "Continues in Volume Number....". And in this one the following must be recorded: "Continues from Volume Number....". In the last volume, the closing note must include the number of volumes, instruments and pages that make up the protocol. SECTION SEVEN THE PROTOCOL KEPT IN ELECTRONIC FORM

To strengthen the legal certainty of acts, contracts or documents in which the law requires the intervention of a notary and to facilitate their registration, the protocol may be kept in electronic form. When the decision is made to use the protocol kept in electronic form, the protocol kept in physical form may be used until the following year. The protocol kept in electronic form may be on an Internet page, in an electronic database or in a similar medium. The technological development of said media and their administration shall correspond to the Notary Control Office. The same shall create the mechanisms and controls that guarantee the confidentiality of the information contained in those protocols.

Every act, contract or document that is authorized or certified by a notary using the protocol kept in electronic form must be incorporated into the database created for that purpose. The authentic copies of signature or document shall be incorporated as annexes to the same. Of each act, contract or document authorized in electronic form, the notary shall keep a copy in the database where his protocol is kept. The same shall be signed by the grantors, witnesses in their case and the authorizing Notary. The digital fingerprint of the index finger of each grantor and witnesses must be included. The copies that correspond shall be printed for delivery to the grantors or applicants and in the event that the act or contract requires it, a copy of the same may be presented electronically to the registry.

The protocol kept electronically must automatically generate the order of the instruments authorized by the Notary according to their date and time of execution, safeguarding their content so that it is not subject to later alteration. Without requiring opening and closing notes, said digital medium shall open the protocol with the first act that the Notary authorizes and shall close automatically at the end of each calendar year.

Access to the protocol kept in electronic form by notaries must be done using a username, a permanent access password and a temporary access password for the transaction that is authorized.

Copies of acts, contracts or documents authorized or certified by a Notary must include means that prevent fraud and allow verification thereof, such as encrypted bar codes, use of digital fingerprint to verify the identity of the parties appearing and any other means that technological advances permit.

Acts or contracts that must be registered and are authorized by a Notary may be announced electronically to the registry. The electronic announcement must be registered as a preventive notation for up to sixty (60) calendar days while the definitive notation is produced.

Those who administer the database of protocols kept in electronic form may generate electronic formats for the authorization of the most common Public Instruments subject to registration. The same shall be of voluntary use. The fees, taxes or charges derived from the authorization or certification of acts, contracts or documents by a Notary may be paid electronically, through accreditation to the account designated for that purpose or other electronic means of payment that may be determined. EIGHTH SECTION THE CUSTODY OF THE PROTOCOLS

The following must be deposited in the Notary Comptroller's Office:

• 1)

  The protocols of the acting Notaries;

• 2)

  The protocols and authorized photocopies thereof which are in the possession of Notaries who have died;

• 3)

  Those of Notaries declared judicially in civil interdiction;

• 4)

  Those of Notaries who absent themselves from the Republic with the purpose of establishing domicile outside of it;

• 5)

  Those of Notaries whom the Supreme Court of Justice suspends in the exercise of their functions or cancels their Exequatur; and,

• 6)

  Those of Justices of the Peace, Diplomatic Agents and Consular Officers accredited abroad, which shall be sent no later than within thirty (30) days following the year of notarial activity.

In the Notary Comptroller's Office, the protocols of the following must also be provisionally deposited: 1) Notaries who have been convicted of the commission of willful crimes whose penalty exceeds five (5) years; and, 2) Notaries who perform public function that carries attached jurisdiction with receipt of salary. When the cause that motivates the provisional deposit ceases, the Notaries must recover the protocols or in their case the authorized photocopies of the protocols, accrediting that fact before the Supreme Court, which, if it is appropriate, shall make the return and shall lift the corresponding record.

The following are obligated to send the protocols and/or photocopies of the protocols to the Notary Comptroller's Office:

• 1)

  The heirs or legitimate representatives of the Notaries who have died;

• 2)

  Notaries who absent themselves from the Republic to establish domicile outside of it, and in this case must, unless there is unforeseen urgency, make the remission no later than fifteen (15) days before their departure; and,

• 3)

  Notaries to whom the decree of suspension and disqualification is issued, within the ten (10) days immediately following the date on which the corresponding resolution became final. NINTH SECTION LOSS, MISPLACEMENT, DESTRUCTION AND REPLACEMENT OF THE PROTOCOL

When a protocol or in its case the authorized photocopies of the protocol are lost or destroyed in whole or in part, the Notary shall immediately notify the Notary Comptroller's Office so that it may conduct an investigation regarding the whereabouts or cause of the destruction, as well as regarding any fault on the part of the Notary and the responsibility of third parties. The Lettered Justices of the Peace have the same obligations and equal responsibilities as Notaries in the custody or preservation of the protocols. The Justices of the Peace, Diplomatic Agents and Consular Officers accredited abroad, upon being removed from their positions, shall deliver by inventory to their successors the protocol in which they are acting. The Special Regulation issued by the Supreme Court of Justice shall determine the procedure and other aspects related to the loss, misplacement, destruction and replacement of the protocol. CHAPTER IV THE NOTARIAL COMPETENCE IN NON-CONTENTIOUS ACTS FIRST SECTION GENERAL PROVISIONS

The non-contentious acts established in the Code of Civil Procedure and in other laws may be heard, processed and resolved by Notaries when express and unanimous consent of the interested parties is present. The interested parties may freely choose the notarial or judicial proceeding as they deem convenient. Once one avenue is chosen, it cannot be abandoned to resort to the other, nor may they be used simultaneously or successively. It is prohibited for the Notary to intervene in non-contentious matters when he has participated in the same as an Attorney or has participated in the authorization of the act or contract in question.

Every proceeding must be initiated at the request of the interested party or by his representatives or legal agents. The same must include the sum, designation of the Notary, the name of the applicant or applicants or his representatives or legal agents with their personal data, the reason for the request, the right that he has, the legal basis, the petition, place and date and signature thereof.

The Notary must form a file with the proceedings of every non-contentious matter submitted to his knowledge and decision. Likewise, he must record in a Public Instrument his final resolution, and the testimony that is extended to the interested party shall have the same value as the certifications of judicial resolutions handed down in matters of the same nature.

Notarial activity in non-contentious matters is subject to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, the present Law and other laws of the country. In this class of matters the Notary cannot issue partial copies or transcribe only a part thereof, when the omitted part affects third parties. Non-compliance with this provision renders the testimony void and, furthermore, entails responsibility for the Notary who infringes it.

In cases where the Law specifically so provides, it is mandatory to hear the Public Ministry before issuing any resolution, under penalty of nullity of the proceedings. Said opinion shall be given within a period not exceeding ten (10) days.

Notaries, by means of official notice, may request from the competent authority the collaboration that may be necessary in order to obtain the data and information that are indispensable for the processing of the files. When without justification the collaboration is not provided to him, after having been requested two (2) times, after three (3) days have elapsed, Notaries may appear before the competent Judge who shall compel the party requested to provide the requested collaboration, without prejudice to his responsibility in accordance with the Law. THIRD SECTION NON-CONTENTIOUS MATTERS

The non-contentious matters that may be heard by Notaries, in addition to those provided for in other laws, are the following:

• 1)

  Rectification of registrations in the Civil Registry;

• 2)

  Family patrimony;

• 3)

  Authorization to appear in court;

• 4)

  Voluntary emancipation;

• 5)

  Age habilitation;

• 6)

  Information ad-perpetuam;

• 7)

  Divorce by mutual consent;

• 8)

  Solemn inventories;

• 9)

  De facto separation;

• 10)

  Conciliation and arbitration;

• 11)

  Execution of guarantees;

• 12)

  Authorization to contract second and subsequent marriages;

• 13)

  Authorization to sell property of minors;

• 14)

  Boundary delimitation and marking;

• 15)

  Permits for operation of merchants and authorization of their books;

• 16)

  Celebration of marriages;

• 17)

  Age qualification;

• 18)

  Cessation of community; and,

• 19)

  Partition of property. CHAPTER V EXECUTION OF GUARANTEES SOLE SECTION GENERAL RULES

The parties may agree in contracts to be subject to the procedure for execution of pledge and mortgage guarantees before a Notary, in which case the base price of the real property given as security and the form of the requirement must be established, observing the procedure established in the present Law.

When it is verified that the obligation is contained in an enforceable title and is currently demandable, the Notary must require the debtor to comply with the obligation undertaken within a term of twenty-four (24) hours. In the same act of the requirement, the debtor must be notified of:

• 1)

  The pending obligation and the amount thereof;

• 2)

  The name of the creditor, the place where payment may be made or the name of the banking establishment and bank account number in which the amount may be deposited;

• 3)

  The day, time, and place in which the public auction sale of the property given as collateral will be carried out in accordance with the base price established in the contract or subsequent agreement, which shall be effected within a term of three (3) days prior to publication of a notice in one of the newspapers with the widest circulation in the country; and,

• 4)

  The indication of to whom payment or deposit must be made, which may be done at any time before the deadline set for the event.

When the use of a physical address is authorized to carry out requirements and notifications for sale by the creditor or extrajudicial sale by Notary and the person or persons to whom the requirement or notification should be directed are not found at that address, a copy of the requirement or notification must be affixed at the entrance of the premises, and a copy must also be delivered to any person found there and to two (2) neighbors of the place who shall act as witnesses to the act. Furthermore, a video recording of these proceedings may be made.

The deed in which the requirement or notification by Notary is evidenced must be registered in the public registry in the same entry in which the collateral has been registered.

The registration of the notification or requirement as an annotation in the entry where the property, act, or contract is registered shall have the same value as attachments decreed judicially.

The sale must be made at public auction to the benefit of whoever offers the best price. The creditor may participate in the auction by offering the value of his credit or a higher amount. In the event that no one participates in the auction, the property shall be adjudicated to the creditor without the need for the creditor to offer his credit. In cases where the value of the auctioned property does not cover the full payment of the obligation, the creditor's right to pursue other property of the debtor shall remain reserved, which must be noted in the corresponding deed. A corresponding deed must be prepared for all actions taken. This deed shall serve as a title of transfer of ownership of the collateral and must be registered.

The rules for determining the priority and ranking of creditors' rights over the collateral shall be determined by the applicable private law legislation.

When there are other creditors secured by the property that will be executed, the creditor interested in its execution must notify the other creditors.

When these other creditors have authorized the use of a physical address to carry out requirements and notifications, the interested creditor may notify them at that address. If they are not found there, a copy of the notification must be affixed at the entrance of the premises, and a copy must also be delivered to any person found there and to two (2) neighbors of the place who shall serve as witnesses to this act. This notification must be registered in the public registry where the property given as collateral is registered.

When there are several creditors, they may agree on the manner in which they will distribute the proceeds of the sale by creditor or of the extrajudicial sale by Notary.

When it is not possible to notify the other creditors who have rights over the same collateral or they do not reach an agreement after being notified, special authorization must be requested from the judge of the domicile where the property is located to proceed with the execution process. For the granting of this authorization, the judge may request that a bond be provided to guarantee the rights of the other creditors. This notification must be registered in the public registry.

The Notary before whom a collateral has been constituted may not participate in its execution.

Repealed.

Repealed.

The Comptroller's Office of Notarial Practice is created as an executive body dependent on the Supreme Court of Justice, which must exercise the functions of guidance, direction, inspection, and oversight of the exercise of Notarial function.

The Comptroller's Office of Notarial Practice is composed of three (3) members appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice. The one designated by the Court shall act as Director, they shall hold office for three (3) years, and may be appointed for an equal period. The respective Regulations shall establish the internal organization and functioning of the various offices or departments of the Comptroller's Office, in accordance with its purpose in conformity with the Law.

To be a member of the Office of the Comptroller of Notaries, the following are required:

• 1)

  To be a Notary in the exercise of their functions;

• 2)

  To be over forty (40) years of age, of recognized honorability, moral solvency and professional prestige;

• 3)

  Not to have been sanctioned for willful crime whose penalty exceeds five (5) years;

• 4)

  To have professional experience in the exercise of notarial practice for at least ten (10) years;

• 5)

  Repealed.6 5 Amended; By Decree No. 77-2006 dated August 15, 2006, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 31,091 of August 28, 2006, whose complete text appears at the end as Annex. Electronic Center of Judicial Documentation and Information

  Judicial Branch of Honduras 6) Not to have kinship with one another, nor with the Magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity.

The Office of the Comptroller of Notaries has the following powers:

• 1)

  To exercise the work of supervision, control or oversight with respect to the proper exercise of notarial functions, as well as all notarial offices;

• 2)

  To ensure strict compliance with the provisions of this Code and its Regulations;

• 3)

  To organize a database of all authorized Notaries, of their respective signatures and seals, as well as their addresses;

• 4)

  To maintain a detailed record of all instruments authorized by the Notary. In its case, microfilming may be used or records may be kept by electronic means;

• 5)

  To conduct inspections of the protocols of Notaries, reporting to the Supreme Court of Justice on the results of such inspections, for the purpose of applying the corresponding sanctions;

• 6)

  To ensure that Notaries maintain conduct in accordance with the Law and the norms of ethics, morality and professionalism in all their actions;

• 7)

  To know ex officio or at the request of a party, regarding complaints filed against Notaries, in relation to the improper performance of notarial functions;

• 8)

  To execute the sanctions imposed by the Supreme Court of Justice provided for in this Code, observing the principle of legitimate defense;

• 9)

  To submit to the Supreme Court of Justice for its approval the draft Regulations that must be issued for the functioning of the Office of the Comptroller of Notaries; and, 6 Repealed; By Decree No. 77-2006 dated August 15, 2006, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 31,091 of August 28, 2006, whose complete text appears at the end as Annex. Electronic Center of Judicial Documentation and Information

  Judicial Branch of Honduras 10) Any other powers assigned to it by this Law.

The members of the Office of the Comptroller of Notaries must perform their duties on a full-time basis and may not engage in the practice of law and notarial functions, nor hold any other position in public administration, except for teaching. SECOND SECTION OF THE DISCIPLINARY REGIME

Depending on the gravity of the infraction, the following sanctions are applied to notaries:

• 1)

  Private reprimand;

• 2)

  Suspension; and,

• 3)

  Cancellation of the Exequatur. Private reprimand must be imposed in the case of minor infractions; suspension when serious infractions occur and cancellation of the Exequatur in the case of very serious infractions.

The following are minor infractions:

• 1)

  Manifest and public disrespect of the Notary toward their colleagues or members of the public;

• 2)

  Delay in the payment of contributions of any kind established in the Law and Regulations; and,

• 3)

  The failure for the first time to comply with the provisions, instructions and circulars issued by the Office of the Comptroller of Notaries.

The following are serious infractions:

• 1)

  The failure for a second or more times to comply with the provisions, instructions and circulars of the Office of the Comptroller of Notaries;

• 2)

  Disobedience to the Notarial Authorities and lack of respect toward them, carried out in an ostensible manner by word, in writing or by acts; Electronic Center of Judicial Documentation and Information

  Judicial Branch of Honduras 3) Non-personal exercise of the profession and monopolization of matters by reprehensible means; 4) The use of procedures contrary to good faith in the hiring of personnel with manifest disloyalty with respect to other Notaries; 5) Repeated inconsiderate conduct toward colleagues, members of the public who request their services or in dealings with their own employees; and, 6) Repeated negligence or delay in the performance of required functions.

The following are very serious infractions:

• 1)

  Recurrence of a serious infraction;

• 2)

  Repeated and unjustified refusal to perform required functions;

• 3)

  Repeated illicit competition in any of its forms, as well as abusive and repeated conduct in the formulation and collection of fees;

• 4)

  Conduct that results in loss of public reputation;

• 5)

  In general, repeated non-compliance with legal, regulatory or mutual duties with serious harm to notarial functions and prejudice to third parties; and,

• 6)

  When the Notary has been convicted in final judgment for the commission of a crime or in a civil case to pay damages and losses caused to third parties by reason of or in connection with the exercise of notarial functions.

The sanctions prescribed in this Law must be imposed on Notaries, ex officio or at the request of a party, by the Supreme Court of Justice. The Office of the Comptroller of Notaries must conduct the initial proceedings, with the accused enjoying the guarantees of due process, the procedure for which is established in the Regulations. The Office of the Comptroller of Notaries must maintain a record of the Notaries who have been suspended or had their Exequatur canceled. Electronic Center of Judicial Documentation and Information

Judicial Branch of Honduras CHAPTER VIII TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Repealed.7

Within six (6) months following the effective date of this Code, Notaries shall send to the Supreme Court of Justice copies of the public deeds contained in their protocol of the previous year or years, exempt from the payment of any fine or sanction.

The Supreme Court of Justice within six (6) months following the effective date of this Law must issue its Regulations. All files related to notarial functions that are pending before the Supreme Court of Justice shall be processed in accordance with existing Law.

Repealed.8 FINAL PROVISIONS

The authorization of acts and contracts submitted to the knowledge of the Notary by electronic means is recognized, for which the respective certificates shall be issued. This authorization must be granted by the Office of the Comptroller of Notaries for those Notaries that have the financial and technical capacity installed.

When a Notary authorizes an instrument relating to an act, contract or legal transaction subject to conditions previously determined by one of the parties, the Notary has the obligation to sufficiently instruct the party that must accept such conditions, regarding the nature, scope and foreseeable legal effects of the matter, so that when giving consent the party is fully aware of its meaning and consequences.

In the register of Notaries maintained by the Supreme Court of Justice the same numerical order must be preserved for the registrations made of Notaries as of the effective date of this Code. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Supreme Court of Justice may establish a new order of registration of Notaries for its updating and control.

Persons not authorized to practice notarial services cannot offer notarial services under any circumstances.

It is the sole responsibility of the interested parties to designate the Notary when they must cover the fees for notarial services. No natural or legal person may establish exclusivity of Notaries or special fee schedules. The natural or legal person who violates this provision must pay to the State a fine equivalent to ten (10) times the value of the fees paid. The Office of the Notary Controller is responsible for ensuring compliance with this provision.

The Law of Notaries contained in Decree No. 162, issued by the National Congress on March 26, 1930 and its amendments; the provisions contained in the Law of the Bar Association of Honduras that refer to Notaries; and Articles 112 through 122 of the Law of Property, contained in Decree No. 82-2004 issued by the National Congress on May 28, 2004, are hereby repealed.

This Law shall enter into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the sixteenth day of the month of December of two thousand five. Published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 30,904 of January 17, 2006. Electronic Center for Judicial Documentation and Information

Judicial Branch of Honduras PORFIRIO LOBO SOSA PRESIDENT JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ A. SECRETARY GILLIAM GUIFARRO MONTES DE OCA SECRETARY To the Executive Branch. Therefore, Let It Be Executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., December 29, 2005. RICARDO MADURO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNANCE AND JUSTICE JOSÉ ROBERTO PACHECO REYES Electronic Center for Judicial Documentation and Information

Judicial Branch of Honduras DECREE No. 77-2006 THE NATIONAL CONGRESS, WHEREAS: The Notary is the Institution of the State that guarantees legal security and the perpetual record of acts between living persons and of those executed in contemplation of death, as well as of non-contentious matters voluntarily submitted thereto. WHEREAS: The creation of the Honduran Institute of Notarial Law in the Code of Notaries has created a conflict of interest with the Bar Association of Honduras that affects the legal security of users and causes a division among legal professionals. WHEREAS: The interpretation of certain articles of the Code of Notaries by Decree does not resolve the aforementioned conflict of interest. WHEREAS: It is the duty of the State to legally guarantee the Institution of Notaries with clear and precise norms, and to also contribute to the strengthening of other institutions constituted as the Bar Association of Honduras. THEREFORE, IT DECREES:

To amend Articles 11 and 27 of Decree No. 353-2005, issued by the National Congress on December 16, 2005, which contains the CODE OF NOTARIES, which shall read as follows:

It is the duty of Notaries to maintain silence regarding the acts and contracts or facts of which they have become aware in the exercise of their function, and not to disclose information that their clients have entrusted to them in a confidential manner.

Notaries who are required to authenticate abroad signatures or documents that must have effect in the country, if they do not have available in the place a Certificate of Authenticity, must record this circumstance and shall advise the interested parties of the obligation they have to attach for their legal validity the corresponding certificate of authenticity and the respective seal, which must be paid for by the authority before whom the authenticated documents are presented or made valid.

To repeal Chapter VI of the Code of Notaries entitled "OF THE HONDURAN INSTITUTE OF NOTARIAL LAW" which contains Articles 72 and 73, which refer to the creation and assets respectively of the Honduran Institute of Notarial Law; Articles 84 and 87; subsection 11 of Article 12 and subsection 5 of Article 76 of the same Code.

The income resulting from the certificates of authenticity and the seals of the Bar Association shall be the exclusive property of the Bar Association of Honduras and the Social Security Institute, as an organism thereof, in the percentage stipulated in Article 22 of its Bylaws. The liquidation of the assets of the Institute of Notarial Law shall be conducted before the Board of Directors of the Bar Association, and the surplus resulting from such liquidation shall be deposited in the accounts of the Bar Association in the percentages stipulated in Article 22 of its bylaws.

This Decree shall enter into force as of the day of its publication in the Official Gazette La Gaceta. Given in the city of Tegucigalpa municipality of the Central District, in the Session Hall of the National Congress, on the 25th day of the month of July of 2006. ROBERTO MICHELETTI BAÍN PRESIDENT JOSÉ ALFREDO SAAVEDRA PAZ SECRETARY NELLY KARINA JEREZ CABALLERO SECRETARY To the Executive Branch. Therefore: Let It Be Executed Tegucigalpa, M.D.C, August 15, 2006 Electronic Center for Judicial Documentation and Information

Judicial Branch of Honduras JOSÉ MANUEL ZELAYA ROSALES PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE DEPARTMENTS OF GOVERNANCE AND JUSTICE JORGE ARTURO REINA IDIÁQUEZ Reform Published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 31,091 of August 28, 2006. Electronic Center for Judicial Documentation and Information