Article Index
Article 41 Where a notarial office or any of its notaries commits any of the following acts, the judicial administrative department of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall give it a warning. If the circumstance is serious, it shall impose upon the notarial office a fine of 10, 000 up to 50, 000 yuan, shall impose upon the notary a fine of 1, 000 up to 5, 000 yuan, and may give him a punishment of suspending his practice for 3-6 months. If there are any illegal gains, such illegal gains shall be confiscated:
（1）Canvassing notarial business by bespattering other notarial offices or notaries, or by paying kickbacks or commissions, or by any other unfair competition methods;
（2）Charging notarization fees by violating the prescribed standards;
（3）Practicing as a notary in 2 or more notarial offices concurrently;
（4）Assuming other paid job（s）;
（5）Performing a notarial act for himself or his close relative, or performing a notarial act in which he himself or his relative has interests; or
（6）Other acts that shall be punished under the law or administrative regulation.
Article 42 Where a notarial office or any of its following acts, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government, or districted city shall give a warning to the notarial office and shall impose upon it a fine of 20, 000 up to 100, 000 yuan, and may give a punishment of suspending business for rectification for 1 up to 3 months. It shall give the notary a warning and shall impose upon him a fine of 2, 000 up to 10, 000 yuan and may give him a punishment of suspending his practices. If there are any illegal gains, such illegal gains shall be confiscated. If the circumstance is severe, the judicial administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall revoke the practicing certificate of the notary. If any crime is constituted, it （he） shall be subject to criminal liabilities:
（1） Illegally issuing any notarial certificate;
（2）issuing a notarial certificate for any untrue or unlawful affair;
（3）embezzling or misappropriating the notarization fees or encroaching upon or steal any articles for the exclusive use of notarization;
（4）destroying or fraudulently altering the notarial document or notarial archive file;
（5）divulging any state secret, commercial secret or personal privacy it has access to in its practice; or
（6）Other acts that shall be punished under the law or administrative regulation.
Where anyone who purposely commits any crime or commits any position-related crime due to negligence and is thus given a criminal punishment, his practitioner's certificate as a notary shall also be nullified.
Article 43 Where a notarization office or notary causes any losses to the party concerned or interested party of the natorization matter due to its （his） fault, the notarial office shall bear the corresponding compensation liabilities. After the notarial office makes a compensation, it may demand the notary with intentional or serious mistake to make a repayment.
If there is any dispute over the compensation between the party concerned, interested party of the notarization matter and the notarial office, a civil lawsuit may be initiated in the people's court.
Article 44 Where a party concerned or any other individual or organization commits any of the following acts and causes any losses to others, it （he） shall bear the civil liabilities. If the act is in violation of the pubic security administration, it （he） shall be given a public security administrative punishment. If any crime is constituted, it （he） shall be subject to criminal liabilities:
（1）Obtaining any notarial certificate by providing false certification materials;
（2）Using any false notarial certificate to commit fraudulent acts; or
（3）Counterfeiting, altering or buying or selling any counterfeited or altered notarial certificate or seal of notarial office.
