Latest News
Freedom of Movement! The Court of Justice gives its opinion
The Court of Justice ends the nationality bar On Tuesday the 24th May 2011, the European Court of Justice gave its judgments on the cases before it concerning notaries. Fifteen nations were told that it was not possible to restrict work as a notary in France to French nationals, or Germans in Germany. Any qualified EU [...]
The Advocate-General gives his opinion
Free movement or not? – The opinion of Advocate General Cruz Villalón in case C47/08 et al concerning Notaries On 14th September Advocate General Don Pedro Cruz Villalón (“the AG”) gave his opinion on the 6 cases brought by the European Commission against member states. These are for infringement of the rights of free movement [...]
CNUE Replies to my open letter
The President of the CNUE has replied to my open letter to CNUE. However, the reply actually only says that they are unable to reply, as their status prevents them giving legal consultations. This is of course nonsense, and I have replied as set out below. I attach PDFs of their email back and letter [...]
The situation in France
France is the very heart of the modern European notarial tradition. It was France and Napoleon who exported the French legal system, which, with many variations here and there, forms the backbone of many European legal codes. The notaire is a key person, but he does not exercise official authority. France’s highest court knows that, as [...]
The situation in Italy (La situazione in Italia)
A seguito del mio ricorso alla Commissione Europea sulle restrizioni di cittadinanza, tre paesi hanno deciso di abbandonarle: Spagna, Italia e Portogallo. Ho inoltrato una richiesta in Italia per praticare in qualità di notaio inglese e con l’intenzione di diventare notaio italiano in futuro. Desidero praticare come notaio inglese senza dover sostenere ulteriori esami, dando [...]
The situation in Germany and Austria
I applied to Germany and Austria to work as an English notary and with the intent to later become a German or Austrian notary under Directive 89/48. As is usual with such staunch supporters of Europe, they have refused. Click below to view the correspondence in .pdf format (links will open in a new window): [...]
The situation in Spain
Following my complaint to the Commission about the nationality restriction, three countries decided to abandon it. These were Spain, Italy and Portugal. I applied to both Spain and Italy to work both as an English Notary and with the aim of becoming a Spanish notary at a later date. I intend practising as an English [...]
The UK government
The UK government appears to be entirely ineffectual in this matter. I have asked repeatedly for it to take action, as it can under the Treaty, either by suing just one of the offending countries direct or by supporting legal action by notaries from England. Indeed it could also help by allowing the use of [...]
Request for action on nationality barriers for Notaries within the EU
Notaries are not much in the news, but should be. They are the most dominant legal profession in continental Europe, with monopolies in key areas, such as the transfer of property. However, they not only do not feature much in the media, but have managed to escape inclusion in any European legislation that might threaten [...]
Open letter to Clarisse Martin, Director of the Conference of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE)
To view the open letter to Clarisse Martin, CNUE in pdf format (file will open in a new window). KOBER-SMITH & ASSOCIATES NOTARY PUBLIC 6 CARLOS PLACE LONDON W1K 3AP TELEPHONE: 020 7499 2605 FAX: 020 7907 9939 E-MAIL: notary@notarypublicinlondon.com WEBSITE: www.notarypublicinlondon.com 14th October 2006 Ms Clarisse Martin, Director, CNUE Email:info@cnue.be Dear Ms Martin, Notaries [...]