EU court: notary services are not legal advice and do not breach Russia sanctions

‘A notary does not breach the sanctions against Russia when he or she authenticates the sale of a property owned by an unlisted Russian company,’ the European Court of Justice (‘ECJ’) said in its judgment in a case where a notary in Berlin had refused to authenticate the sale of an apartment to a pair of Germans, on grounds that the flat was owned by a company registered in Russia.

‘By authentication, a notary does not provide legal advisory services, but acts independently and impartially in the context of a function entrusted to him or her by the State,’ the court said in a press release, 5 September.

The case went to court after the notary had argued it cannot be ruled out that authentication infringes the prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services to legal persons established in Russia.

‘The Court replies that the authentication by a notary of a contract for the sale of immovable property belonging to a legal person established in Russia is not covered by the prohibition on the provision of legal advisory services to such a person,’ the ECJ said.

It further explained that:

‘By authentication, a German notary performs, independently and impartially, a public function entrusted to him or her by the State. It does not appear to provide, beyond that authentication, legal advice intended to promote the specific interests of the parties.

‘Moreover, the tasks carried out by a German notary to execute an authenticated contract for the sale of immovable property (such as the transfer of the amount of the purchase price to the vendor, the cancellation of the charges burdening that property and the registration of the transfer of ownership in the Land Register) do not appear to involve the provision of legal advice either.

‘Furthermore, an interpreter acting in the context of notarial authentication does not provide legal advice, so that his or her services are not covered by the prohibition at issue either.’

https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2024-09/cp240129en.pdf