The civil law notary is at one and the same time a public official representing the State, and a professional expert in the juridical field.
He/she is appointed by the Ministry of Justice and is assigned by the latter to a single Municipality, although, if required, he/she is empowered to carry out his/her functions throughout the territory of the District in which the place he/she is assigned to is located, coinciding approximately with that of the Province.
Accordingly, although he/she is “physically” anchored to the territory for which he/she is competent, every civil law notary may, while remaining in the place assigned him, carry out his/her office relative to properties located anywhere in the national territory: for example, the parties to a purchase/sale of a property located in Palermo may still go to a civil law notaryof Turin in order for the latter to arrange for stipulation of the contract.
Choice of civil law notary is absolutely free and left to the discretion of the parties concerned: however, in the context of the purchase and/sale of property, choice of a civil law notaries is in general reserved to the purchasing party as that liable to payment of the remuneration due to the civil law notary, save agreement to some other effect.