Brussels, 22/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 21 November, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to the Czech Republic and to Latvia calling on them to respect EU law by withdrawing their nationality requirements for notaries. In May 2011, the EU Court of Justice ruled that such conditions of nationality were counter to the freedom of establishment and that the activities of notaries were not covered by an exception under Article 51 of the European treaty concerning activities linked to public authority. The Czech Republic and Latvia argue that their notaries fall under that exception, as they have judicial powers. Nonetheless, their notaries do not have the power to rule on disputes. Therefore, although the notaries' powers allow them in some cases to take decisions equivalent to judicial decisions taken in the Czech Republic and Latvia, the Commission considers that such participation in the exercise of public authority is not sufficient to warrant the nationality requirement, a Commission press release states. (SP/transl.jl)