eSefarad Noticias del Mundo Sefaradi
English version below
ENGLISH VERSION
CIRCULAR OF THE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF LEGAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC FAITH IN RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE NATIONALITY RECORDS OF LAW 12/2015, OF JUNE 24, REGARDING THE CONCESSION OF NATIONALITY SPANISH TO THE ORIGINATING SEPHARDIANS OF SPAIN.
The then Director General of Registries and Notaries, Mr. Pedro Garrido Chamorro, directed the notaries who collaborate with the General Directorate in the processing of files of Sephardim, a circular clarifying the documentation proving the status of Sephardic that must be included in the file for the notarization of the certificate of notary. (It is attached with this new circular).
Despite this, it is being observed that notarial deeds are frequently granted in files in which the requirements established by Law 12/2015 and in Accreditation of Sephardic status 1) Accreditation of Sephardic status from different Jewish communities is being accepted of the area of residence or hometown of the person concerned or of rabbinical authority of countries other than those of the applicant’s habitual residence.
In this regard, it is necessary to remember article 1.2 of Law 12/2015:
«The condition of Sephardic originating in Spain will be accredited by the following means evidential, assessed as a whole:
a) Certificate issued by the President of the Permanent Commission of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain.
b) Certificate issued by the president or similar position of the Jewish community in the area residence or hometown of the interested party.
c) Certificate from the competent rabbinical authority, legally recognized in the country of the habitual residence of the applicant.
2) It is observed that, not including a certificate issued by the Federation of Communities Jews of Spain nor by the Jewish community or rabbinical authority endorsed by that, certificates are accepted that make a mere reference to the fact that the surname of the applicant was frequent among Sephardim who left Spain without accrediting minimally the genealogy of the applicant through the corresponding report.
In this regard, reiterate the circular of the then Director General of February 6, 2019: “In relation to the remaining documents cited in the Law for the accreditation of Sephardic origin,
Care must be taken in order to admit its probative value. In this sense, it should be remembered that it is not enough that the documents listed in sections d), e), f) and g) of article 1.2 indicate indirectly the data referred to in the same, but must have the virtuality of «reliable accreditation» as indicated expressly in the standard.
Appearance before a notary
In numerous notary certificates received, it is observed that there has been no appearance the applicant’s personal before the notary, but that he has been represented by another person to whom a power of attorney has been granted, often granted before the consul of the country of residence in the exercise of notarial functions.
It is necessary to remember article 2.3 of Law 12/2015: «After examining the documents, when the condition of Sephardic originating in Spain as well as the special relationship with Spain of the applicant, the notary will arrange with him his appearance of which minutes will be drawn up … «
For its part, section II.1 of the Instruction of September 29, 2015, of the Management General of Registries and Notaries, on the application of Law 12/2015, of 24 June, regarding the granting of Spanish nationality to Sephardic Jews from Spain:
“Once the application has been completed and the documents referred to in the section I above, once the notary designated to draw up the notary certificate has examined and only when it is understood that the documentation provided has met the requirements required by law, will arrange their appearance with the applicant.
Displacement to Spain for the purposes of granting the certificate is, therefore, obligatory ”, so that representation is not allowed for the realization of this personal appearance. This same section establishes that: “In the personal appearance or through your legal representative (parents of children under 14 years of age or legal guardians) the applicant must assert under his responsibility before the authorizing notary the certainty of the facts in which his application for nationalization is founded ”.
These defects in the granting of the acts of notary produce disturbing effects in compliance with the purposes of the law and cause a long delay in the processing of the files by the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith, whenever that requires reviewing each file and requiring correction, when, as indicated in Circular of 6-2-2019, no act of notary should be granted when the requirements established by law.
Ultimately, a defective compliance with the provisions of the Law also causes a detriment to the applicants themselves, since, if it is noticed that the requirements are not met at the time of the execution of the act, it would be possible to correct it in advance. For him on the contrary, the certificate of notary received in the General Directorate in a file with the aforementioned defects, the resolution issued must necessarily be denial of the nationality application.
Consequently, notaries are urged to ensure compliance with the requirements that establishes Law 12/2015, especially in relation to the issues that are addressed in this circular.
