Posted by Linda_in_MI on 7/29/11 11:23pm
Msg #392041
Notary requirements outside the US
Some food for thought as to how notaries operate and are perceived outside the United States.
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Nationality Requirement Not Applicable to Notaries
EU member states may not ban foreigners from working as notaries, the European Court of Justice has ruled in response to cases opened by the European Commission against seven member states, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Greece, and Portugal. According to the Commission, these countries infringed upon EU regulations by allowing only their own nationals to work as notaries.
In order to make a judgment, the European Court of Justice first needed to decide whether notaries exercised official authority, as the exercise of official authority is exempt from the principle of “freedom of establishment”—the right to work self-employed and to set up a company—provided for by the Treaty on the European Community.
According to the European Court of Justice, responsibilities handled by notaries are not a case of exercising official authority. Furthermore, unlike public authorities, notaries compete with one another and are directly and personally liable for any damage done to their clients.
The judgment of the European Court of Justice also applies to Poland because the European Commission has challenged Polish regulations on the nationality requirement for those appointed to work as notaries. The Commission plans to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
http://www.warsawvoice.pl/WVpage/pages/article.php/23792/article
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