Overview

• The court found the fixed cap for part-time lawyer-notaries unconstitutional under the Basic Law’s protection of professional freedom.
• The decision applies only to Anwaltsnotare and does not affect full-time Nurnotare.
• Judges cited demographic and market shifts, noting regional shortages now replace the 1991 surplus that once justified the limit.
• The invalidated provisions remain in force until the deadline to avoid disruption and to allow a new legal framework.
• The case was brought by a former notary from North Rhine-Westphalia who had lost at the Cologne Higher Regional Court and the Federal Court of Justice before prevailing in Karlsruhe, case file 1 BvR 1796/23.