Profession of Notary has deserved public trust for five years in a row

Evaluating representatives of legal proessions, Lithuanians for five years in a row mostuly trust in notaries, a public opinion survey shows.

Accoridng to the opinion poll held by the public opinion and market studies center „Vilmorus“, 53,1 per cent of questioned Lithuanian residents trust in notraies. 9,4 per cent do not trust in them, while 37,5 per cent of respondents were indeifferent.

Sociologists say that, as compared with 2008, the level of Lithuanian‘s confidence in all the representatives of legal professions decreased, although the share of those who trust in notaries still remains the biggest this year (in 2009 – 53 per cent, in 2008 – 58 per cent).

The second line in the trust table is occupied by police officers (in 2009 – 36 %, in 2008 – 40%), legal counsels are the third (in 2009 - 31%, in 2008 - 41%), they are followed by officers of the Special Investigations Service (in 2009 - 22%, in 2008 - 36%), State Security Department (in 2009 - 18%, in 2008 - 31%), judges (in 2009 - 15%, in 2008 - 25%), prosecutors (in 2009 - 13%, in 2008 - 28%), bailiffs (in 2009 - 12%, in 2008 - 17%).

„Due to controvercial cases where judges, prosecutors, SSD officers are mentioned the level of trus in all the representatives of legal professions has decreased during the year, for example, in prosecutors – over two times. Notaries could not avoid that, either, although over half of the residents still trust in notaries, this is much more than in other legal professions“, - says the director of the center „Vilmorus“ Vladas Gaidys.

„In this difficult economical situation people’s spirits are also go down, they become much more critical to everything. Yet, notaries still remain the lawyers deserving most people‘s confidence. This enjoins us upon further improvement of our services to clients and defending public interest in the shpere of civil law“, - says the President of Lithuanian Notary Chamber, a Klaipeda notary Marius Stračkaitis.

According to the information of „Vilmorus“ center, for the last two years quarter of the respondents have executed their documents at notray bureaus once, and 14% - two and more times. Almost two thirds (62%) of the respondents who have executed documents within the last two years at notary bureaus evalue quality fo services rendered by notaries as good, almost one third (31%) – as satisfactory.

„Vilmorus“ against the order of Lithuanian Notary Chamber this year, on November 5-10, surveyed according to a representative study method 1005 respondents aged over 18 in 23 cities and 56 villages.

In 2005 people‘s confidence in notaries reached 51 per cent., in 2006 – 57 per cent, in 2007– 58 per cent. Those years surveys were held by the society „Spinter tyrimai“.

Lithuanian Notary Chamber is an autonomous professional association uniting notaries of the country, coordinating their activities, responsible for professional development of notaries and high quality renderning of notary services and also representing notaries‘ interests in the state and authorities institutions. There are 263 notaries working in Lithuania at present.