Official Journal of the European Union

C series

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C/2024/7152

(Case C-603/23,

KI (Transfer of a Portuguese notarial practice II)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice - Questions the answer to which may be clearly deduced from the Court’s existing case-law - Directive 2001/23/EC - Safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses - Article 1(1) - Scope and definitions - Concept of ‘transfer of an undertaking [or] business’ - Transfer of a notarial practice - Termination of the exercise of the activity of a notary - Appointment of another notary with a view to temporarily replacing the notary who ceased to exercise that activity - Exercise of the activity concerned in the same place and with the same equipment as the former notary)

(C/2024/7152)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: KI

Defendants: YB and JN

Operative part of the order

1.Article 1(1) of Council Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March 2001 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses, must be interpreted as meaning that a notarial practice falls within the concept of an ‘undertaking’ or ‘business’ capable of being the subject matter of a ‘transfer’ within the meaning of that directive, provided, first, that the notary holding that notarial practice offers services on a given market in return for remuneration and assumes the financial risks associated with exercising that activity, with the result that he or she exercises an economic activity within the meaning of that directive, and, second, that that notarial practice constitutes an organised grouping of persons and of assets enabling the exercise of an economic activity pursuing a specific objective, and which is sufficiently structured and autonomous.

2.Article 1(1) of Directive 2001/23 must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of a ‘transfer of a business’ within the meaning of that provision covers a situation in which the termination of the exercise of the activity of a notary – because the age limit laid down for exercising that activity has been reached – is followed by the appointment of another notary at the end of a procedure for replacing, on a temporary basis, the first notary, where the second notary takes up that activity in the same place and with the same equipment as the first notary, provided that the identity of the notarial practice concerned is maintained.

Date lodged: 3.10.2023.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/7152/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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