on the argument that this is what the law states. That is, the nature of the function—public or private—does not, by itself and a priori, provide a sufficient reason to codify a differentiated legal treatment, especially when it can be observed, as in the case of notaries, that in the exercise of this function, which is highly technical, all that could reasonably be required is technical or professional competence, and the requirement that a notary must be a lawyer— a status that does not exclude foreigners—and be suitably ethical and moral is not exclusively met only by those with a certain nationality. If foreigners who are lawyers, duly registered in the corresponding Bar Association, can exercise their profession in Costa Rica, there is clearly insufficient grounds to argue that foreigners cannot also serve as notaries. If sufficient and evident justification does not exist, it must be assumed that the difference is based purely on nationality, which is discrimination that violates the principle of equal protection. V. By violating the right to equal protection in this way, it is logical that given the labor context, the right to work is also violated, as this right must be interpreted in harmony with the principle of equal protection, such that if the exception set forth in the law is illegitimate, the limitation on work it establishes is also illegitimate. Limitation on freedom of work is only valid if imposed by a rational legal provision, and as already described, the limitation established in article 3 of the current notary profession act is illegitimate because it is not rational. Therefore, the action is granted, and consequently, the limitation set forth in article 3 of the Notary Profession Act preventing foreigners from exercising the notary profession based on their origin is unconstitutional.32 63. Also, in 2004, the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica denied a constitutional challenge against article 3 of the Notary Profession Code, which establishes in its pertinent section that foreigners who fulfill the requirements to work as notaries in the country may do so as long as their country of origin grants the same benefit to Costa Rican notaries. The court found: (...) It should also be recalled that, in the specific case of the notarial function, the body with the competence to oversee and supervise it, by law, is the National Notary Office. (...) this Chamber is not competent to analyze whether, in this case, the protected individual complied or not with the reciprocity requirement established by law for foreigners to exercise the notary profession, as this is exclusively the competence of the authority being appealed, the body in charge, by law, of supervising and overseeing the notary profession. That said, what is relevant to this chamber is whether the actions of the authority being appealed were legal, which they were, as the decision to reject the motion of the appellant is supported by the stipulation of the Notarial Code, described above. (...) despite the foregoing, what is admissible is the allegation of the appellant as to alleged discriminatory treatment with regard to other foreigners, which—he states—have not been required to prove reciprocity, violating the provisions of paragraph 33 of the Political Constitution. In this regard, the authority appealed gave sworn testimony stating that the foreigners to which the appellant referred had different circumstances then he did, for which reason this chamber does not consider the action being appealed to have been discriminatory, given that, as has been recognized on previous occasions, equal treatment must be provided when the factual circumstances or situations are identical, and the principle of equal protection is only violated when the inequality lacks an objective justification. Effectively, cases in which foreigners complete their studies in Costa Rica cannot be compared to cases in which foreigners complete part of their studies in their countries and part in Costa Rica, nor to foreigners who complete their entire degree in their country of origin, as the three situations are different. Therefore, independently of whether the Universidad de Costa Rica has granted the degree of notary, the fact is the degree is academic in nature, and in order to be authorized to exercise the notary profession, authorization is required from the National Notary Office, which must follow the law governing the issue.33 64. For its part, in 2014, the Appellate Chamber for Administrative and Tax Disputes of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, ruled in a case that the requirement established by article 8(a) of the Organic Notary Law, establishing that in order to be added to the professional registry as a notary one must “be a native born Argentine, or a naturalized citizen for no fewer than six years,” was not applicable. The Court made several points relevant to this case: (...) VIII. In view of this, it is appropriate to examine the only requirement that could prevent the applicant from registering as a notary: the requirement that he be a naturalized Argentine citizen for six years. 32 33 Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, Case File 2486-92 of May 19, 1993. Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, Case File 03-012275-007-CO of May 30, 2004. 12