Blockchain and smart contract architecture for notaries services under civil law: a Brazilian experience

This paper proposes a blockchain solution for some activities currently performed by notary offices under the Civil Law judiciary that is technically viable. The architecture is also planned to accommodate Brazil’s legal, political, and economic requirements. Notaries are responsible for providing various intermediation services for civil transactions, where their primary role is to be the trusted party capable of guaranteeing the authenticity of these transactions. This type of intermediation is common and demanded in Latin American countries, such as Brazil, which is regulated by a Civil Law judiciary. The lack of adequate technology to meet such legal demands leads to an excess of bureaucracy, dependence on manual document and signature checks, and centralized and face-to-face actions in the physical dependence of the notary. To deal with this scenario, this work presents a blockchain-based solution to make some of the activities performed by notaries automatic, guaranteeing non-modification and adherence to civil laws. Thus, the suggested framework was evaluated in accordance with Brazilian legislation and provides an economic evaluation of the proposed solution.