Master of Laws in Notarial Law
The notary public is a legal expert who holds a public office and is appointed by the King. As such, s/he is authorized to draw up and store authentic deeds, and to deliver enforceable issues, copies and extracts. The programme can also be an interesting asset for legal experts who do not wish to enter into the notarial profession.
What
The notary public is a legal expert who holds a public office and is appointed by the King. As such, s/he is authorized to draw up and store authentic deeds, and to deliver enforceable issues, copies and extracts. This Master’s programme trains legal experts for the position of notarial legal expert, that of candidate-notary public, and notary public. We cover the branches of the law relevant to the notarial profession thoroughly, and offer the necessary preparatory knowledge for the practice of law in that same profession. The above-mentioned thorough study of specific legal branches makes the programme an interesting asset for legal experts who do not wish to enter into the notarial profession, too.
Structure
The curriculum emphasizes thorough academic knowledge of all the branches of law relevant to the notarial profession. Classes are concentrated on three weekdays, allowing you to gain additional practical experience on a voluntary basis. You can combine the programme with a part-time job or work placement (though there is no official work placement in the programme). You can also stagger the programme across several years.
Labour Market
Those who want to qualify as a notary public or recognized candidate-notary public have to take on a three-year work placement (mandatory by law) with a recognized notary public. Remuneration during work placement is negotiated between the student and the hosting notary public. After completing the work placement, students can obtain the title of candidate-notary public by participating in a comparative exam and by appointment by the King. The comparative exam is organized by the Notarial Nomination Committee. It consists of a written and oral part. The contents of the written and oral part is determined by the Nomination Committee, approved by Ministerial Decree of the Minister of Justice and published in the Belgian Government Gazette. The law does not lay down a maximum number of participations. A candidate-notary public becomes a fully qualified notary public by royal appointment, or by associating themselves with another notary public. In some instances, they can replace a notary public. The Notarial Law programme can also be an interesting preparation for a career in the banking or insurance sector, the real estate sector or public service. The additional legal knowledge and skills you acquire in the programme are highly appreciated in those sectors.
Quality Assurance
At Ghent University, we strive to educate people who dare to think about the challenges of tomorrow. For that purpose, we provide education that is embedded in six strategic objectives: Think Broadly, Keep Researching, Cultivate Talent, Contribute, Extend Horizons, Opt for Quality.
Ghent University continuously focuses on quality assurance and quality culture. The Ghent University's quality assurance system offers information on each study programme’s unique selling points, and on its strengths and weaknesses with regard to quality assurance.
More information:
Unique Selling Points
- Our programme has a thorough academic-scientific focus.
- We opt for a cross-curricular approach to the various branches of the law relevant for the notary public.
- Our programme focuses on social competencies relevant to the position of a notary public in society.
- Our programme covers the entire process of drawing up deeds as well as the notary public’s duty to provide content-related advice.
- The curriculum is organized in such way that it allows for a part-time job or a voluntary work placement. All classes take place on three weekdays.
Strengths
- We have a clear and specific vision on education.
- Our programme boasts a high level of involvement, professionalism and motivation by our lecturers.
- Our student representatives, alumni and professional field are highly involved in our programme.
- We pursue a transparent assessment policy.
- We offer a well-considered mix of oral and written assessment methods.
Challenges
- We aim to clarify the various final competencies/learning outcomes per course unit to our students.
- We want to focus more on the international dimension of the profession of notary public.
- In recent years, our student numbers quadrupled. We hope that our academic staff may increase accordingly, so that we can improve the supervision of our Master’s dissertations.
This study programme is accredited by the Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders (Dutch: NVAO). Accreditation was extended following the positive outcome of the institutional review in 2022. Programme quality was validated by a quality review, i.e. a screening of the Education Monitor by the Education Quality Board. The Quality Assurance Resolution (in Dutch) can be found here.
This information was last updated on 01/02/2023.
In case of questions or suggestions with regard to the publicly available information, please contact the study programme.