The economic crisis derived from the tourism crisis has slowed down operations in which the presence of notaries is key. In the Canary Islands there are 98 notaries, of which 40 are First Class; 46 Notaries are Second Class and 12 are Third Class. The drop in activity resulting from the crisis has taken its toll on notaries, which act as faithful thermometers of the economic situation. Given the loss of business and the inability to fill some positions, the Ministry of Justice has already chosen to close a total of 12.
Justice sources indicated this Monday to Maspalomas24H that the measure entails in 2022 the "suppression of a third class notary office in San Bartolomé de Tirajana-Maspalomas" as well as in San Lucía de Tirajana. In Mogán there are no changes because "all notary offices will be maintained in the towns with a single demarcated square."
For now, in the south of Gran Canaria, with two demarcated squares, one of them can only be eliminated, "exceptionally, in obvious cases of economic unviability." Official sources indicated that the measure is being made in the south of Gran Canaria due to "the decrease in economic transactions in each town or notarial district" and "the reduction in the average of total notarial activity in each town" due to "the lack of a demand for a public notarial service that allows us to cover the economic costs of an excessive number of notaries in the same population" and "the sustainability of the offices and stability in employment."
Therefore, in the notarial district of San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Maspalomas three second-rate ones remain; in Mogán, two second-class ones and in Santa Lucía-Vecindario, two second-class ones. The notaries in the south of Gran Canaria have obtained the high-level National Security Scheme (ENS), a certification that guarantees that the notarial information systems meet the necessary security conditions to safeguard citizen information and their rights. Notaries emphasize that this certification guarantees the circulation through "secure channels" of their notarized electronic copies. Within the General Administration of the State, only the General Directorate of the Police, the Civil Guard and Social Security have this certification. The delegate of new technologies of the General Council of Notaries, Luis Fernández-Bravo, has indicated that this seal is the recognition at the "highest level" of the commitment assumed by the notary profession in the technological field.