THE IMPACT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES ON PRIVATE LAW: THE PLATFORMS OF THE INSTITUTE OF REGISTRIES AND NOTARY IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

We live in a society in which digital technologies have ceased to be a luxury and have become a condition for its functioning. It is in this context that Susana Pinto analyses the transformation that the platforms of the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN) are bringing about in Portuguese Private Law. The digitalisation of Public Administration is not merely a matter of technical modernisation — it is, first and foremost, a legal change. In Portugal, this transformation has materialised in four central platforms: Predial Online, Empresa Online, Civil Online, and Automóvel Online. Through these, citizens and professionals can today request registrations, access certificates, and carry out legal acts remotely, without the need to travel to a registry office. At the level of Private Law, the impact is significant. In the field of property rights, real-time consultation of land registry certificates strengthens legal certainty in real estate transactions. In company formation, simplification has accelerated the process. In Family Law, the approach has been more cautious — acts such as the celebration of marriage or divorce hearings continue to require physical presence, precisely to guarantee the free formation of will. Digitalisation also brings challenges. Infrastructure security, the protection of personal data, and the digital exclusion of those who do not master — or do not have access to — technological tools are concerns that cannot be ignored. Human intervention in the qualification of registrations cannot be dispensed with, since legal interpretation requires a sensitivity that only human beings possess. Legal professionals stand as extremely relevant figures in this context, not as mere intermediaries, but as guardians of legal certainty.