The difference

Civil law notaries are never for or against a party but always for the law. They help the parties involved to obtain their rights, avoid litigation and mediate wherever compromise will achieve more than court rulings.

This is why civil law notaries are vested with sovereign functions which would otherwise be reserved for e.g. the courts. Whatever civil law notaries settle is settled well. Much of the work done by notaries is low-profile - and rightly so. After all, their noblest task is to relieve the courts of some of their work, not to create additional workload.