In the decision numbered C-109/23, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) ruled that a notary’s approval of the sale of a property belonging to an unlisted Russian company did not violate European Union’s (“EU”) sanctions against Russia.
Pursuant to Article 5n(2a) of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) No 2022/1904 of 6 October 2022, on the restrictive measures imposed as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it is prohibited to provide legal advice and consultancy services directly or indirectly to a legal person, institution or organization established in Russia.
Facts of the Case
A Russian company headquartered in Moscow, which has owned a property registered in Berlin, Germany since 2013, has decided to sell this property in 2022. Pursuant to German law, the relevant contract must be notarized in order for the sale of real estate to take place. A notary in Germany refused to notarize the contract for the sale of the apartment on the grounds that it would
Evaluation of the CJEU
The CJEU stated that notaries act in an impartial manner, at an equal distance from the interests of the contracting parties, and that the notary’s notarization of a contract for the sale of immovable property belonging to a Russian legal person does not fall within the concept of “legal advisory services” referred to in Article 5n(2a) of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014. Also, CJEU claimed that the notarization is not legal advice aimed at promoting the private interests of the parties. Moreover, according to the CJEU, the services of an interpreter acting in the context of the transfer of the purchase price to the seller, the cancellation of the fees imposed on the property, the registration of the transfer of ownership in the Land Registry and the notarization do not amount to legal advice and are also not covered by the legal prohibition.
Conclusion
Notaries do not represent any of the contracting parties and approach all parties to the legal transaction in an independent and impartial manner. According to the CJEU, transactions carried out by notaries do not fall within the legal advisory service referred to in Article 5n(2a) of the Regulation as they do not concern the interests of the parties. This is because nothing in the Regulation imposes a general prohibition on the exclusion of a person from a transaction solely on the grounds of his or her residence in Russia or on the transfer of immovable property located in the territory of the European Union and belonging to such a person. This judgment is significant as the CJEU made an exception to the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia.
Note: The Decision also states that translation services provided by an interpreter to assist a person who does not speak the language in which
