Notaries" Role in Greece - NYTimes.com After identifying specific, exceptional cases of property transfer in Greece, "Who Owns This Land? In Greece, Who Knows?" (front page, May 27) concludes that "Greeks are remarkably at ease with a level of irregularity when it comes to real estate." Latin notaries, highly trained professionals who provide a range of legal services, are the determining factor in the field of property transfer transactions in Greece. They safeguard the legal security of transactions, monitor legality and serve the public interest but also balance private interests in the property, thus forestalling the development of disputes and litigation. And while it is true that the system of land registry documents in our country lags behind, covering 15 percent of the national territory, legal information on the ownership of land can be safely located both in land registry records as well as in the content of notarial documents registered therein. In contrast, in countries like the United States, the European-type notary is missing from land transactions. In Greece and the dozens of other countries with the Latin notary system, as long as there is a Latin notary, we know who owns a piece of land and that it is safely transferred to the new owner. On behalf of all Greek notaries, I urge you to trust us and unreservedly encourage investment in land and development in our country. KONSTANTINOS VLACHAKIS President National Council of Greek Notaries Athens, May 31, 2013