CJEU - C 47/08 / Judgment
European Commission v Belgium
Deciding body type
Deciding body
European Court of Justice (Grand Chamber)
Article 20 - Equality before the law
Article 21 - Non-discrimination
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Key facts of the case:
According to Belgian legislation, access to the liberal profession of notaries was restricted to nationals. The Commission did not accept the Belgian argument that this restriction was covered by Article 45 (1) TEC (now Article 51 [1] TFEU) and, therefore, brought an action under Article 226 TEC (now Article 258 TFEU) for infringement of Article 43 TEC (now Article 49 TFEU) and failure of transposition of Directive 2005/36.
Results (sanctions) and key consequences of the case:
The Court:
Declares that, by imposing a nationality condition for access to the profession of notary, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 43 EC;
Dismisses the action as the remainder;
Orders the European Commission, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Czech Republic, the French Republic, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Slovak Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to bear their own costs.
Paragraphs referring to EU Charter