The Court of First Instance of Aruba has upheld the statutory retirement age of 65 for notaries, rejecting a claim that the rule amounted to unlawful age discrimination.
Court finds objective justification
The September 2 judgment concerned a notary who compared Aruba’s age limit with the Netherlands, where notaries may continue until age 70. The claimant argued that the difference conflicted with equality protections and Kingdom harmonization obligations.
The court rejected those arguments. It found that Aruba’s legislature may adopt rules suited to the country’s own social and economic circumstances and that the age limit has an objective and reasonable basis.
Limited number of positions considered
The judgment noted that Aruba has a statutory maximum of seven notarial positions. The court accepted that retirement at 65 can promote opportunities for younger candidate-notaries to enter the profession.
It also found that the rule aligns with Aruba’s pension system. The difference from Dutch law did not make the Aruban provision invalid, and the court dismissed the claimant’s requests. The case is identified as ECLI:NL:OGEAA:2026:228.
Sources: Official court judgment and local reporting from 24ora.
