82. The State justified the renunciation of the nationality of origin owing to the prohibition to invoke foreign sovereignty against Guatemala.130 However, the law establishes exceptions to the nationality of origin that undermine this line of argument concerning the invocation of foreign sovereignty and, also, emphasize the unreasonable nature of the criterion of nationality to perform the notarial function, because it stipulates differences in treatment not only between Guatemalan nationals and non-nationals, but also between different categories of non-nationals. 83. In Guatemala there are two hypotheses of double nationality in which nonnationals may exercise the notarial function without having to renounce their nationality of origin. The first, in article 145 of the Guatemalan Constitution, establishes that nationals by birth of member countries of the Central American Federation - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras – may also be considered Guatemalan without losing their nationality of origin, following a statement of interest. Under the second scenario, the 1961 Agreement on nationality between Spain and Guatemala131 allows Guatemalans or Spaniards by birth to acquire the nationality of the other State by establishing residence in its territory.132 Moreover, I would like to point out that article 7 of this instrument establishes that nationals who benefit from double nationality shall not “be subject simultaneously to the laws of both parties.” The criterion to determine the applicable laws is, precisely, the individual’s domicile. 84. If the distinction between nationals and non-nationals for the exercise of the notarial profession is based, according to the State, on preventing a possible invoking of foreign sovereignty against Guatemala and, ultimately, on preventing the impunity of the notary who commits irregularities in Guatemalan territory and then flees to his country of origin and cannot be extradited because he is a national of that other country, it should be noted that, under the laws currently in force in Guatemala, such hypotheses are already possible in relation to those who enjoy the benefit of double nationality. According to the Inter-American Convention on Extradition,133 “[w]hen the person whose extradition is sought is a citizen of the country to which the requisition is addressed, his delivery may or may not be made, as the legislation or circumstances of the case may, in the judgment of the surrendering State, determine.” 85. Thus, there are no effective guarantees that it will be possible to extradite individuals with double nationality if they flee to the other country. The existence of these exceptions reinforces the notion that the ordinary exercise of the notarial function, as well as its inspection, oversight, and sanction in cases when irregularities are committed, does not depend on the requirement of Guatemalan nationality. Therefore, in an analysis of strict proportionality, the weight of the supposed benefits of the restriction do not appear substantial enough to justify the consequences. 86. Furthermore, as they stand at present, the rules on access to the notarial profession are flagrantly disproportionate because, in addition to differentiating nationals and nonnationals, they even impose a more severe restriction on non-nationals who enjoy the benefit of double nationality, requiring them to renounce their nationality of origin. It should be underlined that this observation is not a criticism of the double nationality 130 Cf. Answering brief of June 14, 2021, para. 167. Cf. Spain and Guatemala. Agreement on Nationality, 1961. Available at: https://treaties.un.org/doc/ Publication/UNTS/Volume%201971/volume-1971-I-33704-English.pdf. Consulted on May 4, 2023. 131 Cf. Answering brief of June 14, 2021, para. 252. According to the information provided by the General Archive of Protocols, “currently there are: (i) 10 naturalized Guatemalans who have been registered and authorized to exercise notarial functions in Guatemala, placing them on an equal footing to Guatemalans by birth; (ii) 4 notaries who are Spanish nationals and who have obtained the condition of naturalized Guatemalans; (iii) 105 notaries of different nationalities who are Guatemalans by birth by being children of a Guatemalan father or mother, and (iv) 120 notaries who are Guatemalan by birth or because they are nationals by birth of the Republics that constitute the Central American Federation.” 132 Cf. Inter-American Convention on Extradition, 1933. Available at: https://www.oas.org/juridico/spanish/ tratados/a-35.html. Consulted on May 4, 2023. 133 22