Overview

• The ruling covers Anwaltsnotare who practice law and perform notarial duties and does not extend to full-time career notaries.
• The court found the blanket cap disproportionate under the constitutional freedom to pursue a profession, citing long-running shortages of applicants for these posts.
• President Stephan Harbarth emphasized that cognitive aging varies by individual and does not justify an automatic cutoff for notarial work.
• The invalidated provisions of the Federal Notaries Act remain temporarily applicable until 30 June 2026, and affected ex-notaries may seek reappointment under existing procedures.
• The successful complainant, 71-year-old Dietrich Hülsemann from North Rhine-Westphalia, had previously lost at the Cologne Higher Regional Court and the Federal Court of Justice before prevailing in case 1 BvR 1796/23.