Justice without litigation – experience of the Latvian notariate appreciated in Europe
Decreasing the workload of courts is a relevant issue not only in Latvia but also in other states of the European Union. The project JuWiLi II, implemented by the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE), in which experience of the Latvian notariate is used as the best practice example, attests to it. For example, in 2011, to decrease the judicial workload, non-contentious divorce was transferred into the competence of notaries. In many European countries this is still possible only through court.
Divorcing a marriage with a notary – 15 years long experience in Latvia
In Latvia, a notary may dissolve a marriage if the spouses have no dispute regarding division of joint property and an agreement has been concluded in the form of a notarial deed regarding the custody, rights of access and maintenance of common minor children. If the parties are able to agree the divorce case must not go before court. This approach has allowed to relieve the judicial system from cases where there is no conflict between the spouses.
The statistics show that in recent years divorce with a notary has been chosen in a similar number of cases. In 2022, sworn notaries have issued 4298 divorce certificates; in 2023 – 4239; in 2024 – 4284; in 2025 – 4185. These data testify that several thousand families in Latvia use this opportunity to divorce a marriage without litigation. Such consistency proves that the notaries, by taking over these cases, have significantly alleviated the work of courts, decreasing the number of divorce cases to be reviewed in judicial proceedings.
The European landscape – this is not possible everywhere
Although divorce by notary has been practiced in Latvia already for 15 years, this procedure is not common throughout the European Union. Information published in the European e-Justice portal shows that a marriage can be divorced by a notary in Spain, Rumania, Greece, Estonia, France, Slovenia, as well as Lithuania.
This means that in several Member States of the European Union divorcing a marriage still falls solely within the competence of courts. Latvia once chose a more flexible approach, which has had good outcomes and now already serves as model for other countries.
Not only divorce – a broader range of competence
Divorce is not the only area that Latvia has chosen to entrust notaries with for resolving non-contentious matters. Since 2003, Latvian notaries are handling succession cases, since 2013 – are issuing the notarial deeds of enforcement, since 2022 – handle the release of private persons from debt obligations up to EUR 5000.
In many places in Europe, this function still remains only in the competence of courts. The Latvian model shows that involvement of a professional, unbiased and legally qualified notary allows resolving such matters faster and more effectively, at the same time, maintaining high level of legal security.
New changes – the next step in quality
On 1 March 2026, amendments to the Civil Procedure Law and the Notariate Law entered into effect, these will have significant impact on those spouses who have decided to divorce the marriage with a notary and who have minor children.
From now on, such agreements on the custody of children, right of access and maintenance payments will have to be drawn up in the form of a notarial deed. This means that the notary will not only certify the document but will also ensure a balance between the parties’ interests, will explain the legal consequences of the agreement, and will help to draw up a well-considered, feasible agreement.
These changes are focused on the interests of the child. The purpose is to decrease formal agreements, which are unfeasible in practice, reinforce the responsibility of both parents, and timely prevent possible conflicts.
What does this mean for society?
The transfer of non-contentious cases to notaries is not only reallocation of competence but is a people’s needs centred approach, which ensures fast, convenient and legally qualitative solution, significantly decreasing the need for litigation.
Experience of the Latvian notariate shows that it is capable of assuming and effectively implementing competence that is important for society. A notary’s work proves that justice without litigation is not only a theoretical concept but a model that also works in practice.
Currently, the active research phase of JuWiLi II is ongoing, Member States have submitted extensive questionnaires, collected statistics, and the analysis of information provided by them shows that the resolution of non-contentious legal matters significantly differs across Europe. However, we can clearly state that, on the European scale, the Latvian notariate, for more than a decade already, implements solutions that elsewhere are only subjects of discussions. The final conclusions of JuWiLi II project will be presented in December. The project is lead and coordinated by the Austrian Chamber of Civil-Law Notaries in cooperation with the University of Graz (Universität Graz). The project is co-financed in the framework of the EU Justice Programme for 2021–2027.
On 5 March, the Day of Notaries will be held for the twentieth time. As part of it, from 10.00 to 11.30 an online conference and experts’ panel discussion will be held, likewise, throughout the day, it will be possible to receive free of charge legal advice at the notaries’ offices everywhere in Latvia or by phone. Additional information is available on the homepage of the Council of Sworn Notaries of Latvia and the social network Facebook page “My Notary”.