Apostille Convention

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Not to be confused with Apostle (messenger, esp. Christian); or an apostil, meaning a marginal note or gloss.
Apostille Convention
Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
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  State parties to the convention (members of the HCCH)
  State parties to the convention (non-members of the HCCH)
  States Parties for which the convention has not entered into force
Signed 5 October 1961
Location The Netherlands
Effective 14 January 1965
Condition ratification by 3 states[1]
Parties 105
Depositary Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
Languages French (prevailing in case of divergence)
and English
Apostille Convention at Wikisource

The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, the Apostille convention, or the Apostille treaty is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. It specifies the modalities through which a document issued in one of the signatory countries can be certified for legal purposes in all the other signatory states. Such a certification is called an apostille (French: certification). It is an international certification comparable to a notarisation in domestic law.

Contents

Procedure [edit]

Apostilles are affixed by Competent Authorities designated by the government of a state which is party to the convention.[2] A list of these authorities is maintained by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Examples of designated authorities are embassies, ministries, courts or (local) governments. For example, in the United States, the Secretary of State of each state and his or her deputies are usually competent authorities. In the United Kingdom, all apostilles are issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Milton Keynes.[3]

To be eligible for an apostille, a document must first be issued or certified by an officer recognised by the authority that will issue the apostille. For example, in the US state of Vermont, the Secretary of State maintains specimen signatures of all notaries public, so documents that have been notarised are eligible for apostilles.[4] Likewise, courts in the Netherlands are eligible of placing an apostille on all municipal civil status documents directly. In some cases, intermediate certifications may be required in the country where the document originates before it will be eligible for an apostille. For example, in New York City, the Office of Vital Records (which issues, among other things, birth certificates) is not directly recognised by the New York Secretary of State.[5] As a consequence, the signature of the City Clerk must be certified by the County Clerk of New York County to make the birth certificate eligible for an apostille.[6][7] In Japan all the official documents are issued in Japanese language, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA, JAPAN) then provides an apostille for these documents.[8] In India the apostille certification can be obtained from the Ministry of External Affairs[9]

Information [edit]

An apostille issued by Norwegian authorities.

The apostille itself is a stamp or printed form consisting of 10 numbered standard fields. On the top is the text APOSTILLE, under which the text Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961 (English: Hague Convention of 5 October 1961) is placed. In the numbered fields the following information is added:

  1. Country ... [country name]
    This public document
  2. has been signed by ... [name]
  3. acting in the capacity of ... [function]
  4. bears the seal/stamp of ... [authority]
    certified
  5. at ... [location]
  6. the ... [date]
  7. by ... [name]
  8. No ... [apostille registration number]
  9. Seal/stamp ... [of the authority giving the apostille]
  10. Signature ... [signature of authority giving the apostille]

The information can be placed on the (back of the) document itself, or attached to the document as an allonge.

Eligible documents [edit]

Four types of documents are mentioned in the convention:[1]

  • court documents
  • administrative documents (e.g. civil status documents)
  • notarial acts
  • official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures.

Legalization [edit]

Main article: legalization (international law)

States that have not signed the Convention must specify how foreign legal documents can be certified for its use. Two countries may have a special convention on the recognition of each other's public documents, but in practice this is infrequent. Otherwise, the document must be certified by the foreign ministry of the country where the document originated and then by the foreign ministry of the government where the document will be used; one of the certifications will often be performed at an embassy or consulate. In practice this means the document must be certified twice before it can have legal effect in the receiving country. For example, as a non-signatory, Canadian documents for use abroad must be certified by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa or by a Canadian consular official abroad and subsequently by the relevant government office or consulate of the receiving state.

Apostille vs. Legalization
An Apostille of the Hague issued by the State of Alabama 
As a non-signatory, Canadian documents for use abroad must be certified twice: at the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequently by the consulate of the receiving state (in this case, the Netherlands) 

States parties [edit]

The convention is in force for all members of the European Union and all but 10 members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The most recent countries to accede to the convention are Nicaragua (entry into force 14 May 2013) and Bahrain (entry into force 31 December 2013)

State Entry into Force Apostille not recognised in comment
Albania Albania 02004-05-099 May 2004 Belgium, Germany,
Greece and Spain
Andorra Andorra 01996-12-3131 Dec 1996
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda 01981-11-011 Nov 1981
Argentina Argentina 01988-02-1818 Feb 1988
Armenia Armenia 01994-10-1414 Oct 1994
Australia Australia 01995-03-1616 Mar 1995
Austria Austria 01968-01-1313 Jan 1968
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan 02005-03-022 Mar 2005 Germany
The Bahamas Bahamas 01973-07-1010 Jul 1973
Bahrain Bahrain 02013-12-3131 Dec 2013
Barbados Barbados 01966-11-3030 Nov 1966
Belarus Belarus 01992-05-3131 May 1992
Belgium Belgium 01973-02-099 Feb 1973
Belize Belize 01993-04-1111 Apr 1993
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina 01992-03-066 Mar 1992
Botswana Botswana 01966-09-3030 Sep 1966
Brunei Brunei 01987-12-033 Dec 1987
Bulgaria Bulgaria 02001-04-2929 Apr 2001
Cape Verde Cape Verde 02010-02-1313 Feb 2010
Colombia Colombia 02001-01-3030 Jan 2001
Cook Islands Cook Islands 02005-04-3030 Apr 2005
Costa Rica Costa Rica 02011-12-1414 Dec 2011
Croatia Croatia 01991-12-088 Dec 1991
Cyprus Cyprus 01973-04-3030 Apr 1973
Czech Republic Czech Republic 01999-03-1616 Mar 1999
Denmark Kingdom of Denmark 02006-12-2626 Dec 2006 does not apply for Greenland
and the Faroe Islands
Dominica Dominica 01978-11-033 Nov 1978
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic 02009-08-3030 Aug 2009 Austria, Belgium,Germany
and the Netherlands
Ecuador Ecuador 02005-04-022 Apr 2005
El Salvador El Salvador 01996-05-3131 May 1996
Estonia Estonia 02001-09-3030 Sep 2001
Fiji Fiji 01970-10-1010 Oct 1970
Finland Finland 01986-08-2626 Aug 1986
France France 01965-01-2424 Jan 1965
Georgia (country) Georgia 02007-05-1414 May 2007 Greece
Germany Germany 01966-02-1313 Feb 1966
Greece Greece 01985-05-1818 May 1985
Grenada Grenada 02002-04-077 Apr 2002
Honduras Honduras 02004-12-3030 Dec 2004
Hong Kong Hong Kong 01965-04-2525 Apr 1965 The convention is still applicable to Hong Kong despite the
transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong on 01997-07-011 July 1997.[10]
Hungary Hungary 01973-01-1818 Jan 1973
Iceland Iceland 02004-11-2727 Nov 2004
India India 02005-07-1414 Jul 2005 Germany
Republic of Ireland Ireland 01999-03-099 Mar 1999
Israel Israel 01978-08-1414 Aug 1978
Italy Italy 01978-02-1111 Feb 1978
Japan Japan 01970-07-2727 Jul 1970
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 02001-01-3030 Jan 2001
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan 02011-07-3131 Jul 2011 Austria, Belgium, Germany and Greece
Latvia Latvia 01996-01-3030 Jan 1996
Lesotho Lesotho 01966-12-044 Dec 1966
Liberia Liberia 01996-02-088 Feb 1996 Belgium, Germany
and the United States
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein 01972-09-1717 Sep 1972
Lithuania Lithuania 01997-07-1919 Jul 1997
Luxembourg Luxembourg 01979-06-033 Jun 1979
Macau Macau 01969-02-044 Feb 1969 The convention is still applicable to Macau despite the
transfer of sovereignty over Macau on 01999-12-2020 Dec 1999.[10]
Republic of Macedonia Macedonia 01991-11-1717 Nov 1991
Malawi Malawi 01967-12-022 Dec 1967
Malta Malta 01968-03-033 Mar 1968
Marshall Islands Marshall Islands 01992-08-1414 Aug 1992
Mauritius Mauritius 01968-03-1212 Mar 1968
Mexico Mexico 01995-08-1414 Aug 1995
Moldova Moldova 02007-03-1616 Mar 2007 Germany
Monaco Monaco 02002-12-3131 Dec 2002
Mongolia Mongolia 02009-12-3131 Dec 2009 Austria, Belgium, Finland,
Germany and Greece
Montenegro Montenegro 02006-06-033 Jun 2006
Namibia Namibia 02001-01-3030 Jan 2001
Kingdom of the Netherlands Kingdom of the Netherlands 01965-10-088 Oct 1965 Aruba, Curaçao, Netherlands and Sint Maarten
New Zealand New Zealand 02001-11-2222 Nov 2001
Nicaragua Nicaragua 02013-05-1414 May 2013
Niue Niue 01999-03-022 Mar 1999
Norway Norway 01983-07-2929 Jul 1983
Oman Oman 02012-01-3030 Jan 2012
Panama Panama 01991-08-044 Aug 1991
Peru Peru 02010-09-3030 Sep 2010 Germany and Greece
Poland Poland 02005-08-1414 Aug 2005
Portugal Portugal 01969-02-044 Feb 1969
Romania Romania 02001-03-1313 Mar 2001
Russia Russia 01992-05-3131 May 1992
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis 01994-12-1414 Dec 1994
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia 02002-07-3131 Jul 2002
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 01979-10-2727 Oct 1979
Samoa Samoa 01999-09-1313 Sep 1999
San Marino San Marino 01995-02-1313 Feb 1995
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe 02008-09-1313 Sep 2008
Serbia Serbia 01992-04-2727 Apr 1992 ratified as the  Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Seychelles Seychelles 01979-03-3131 Mar 1979
Slovakia Slovakia 02002-02-1818 Feb 2002
Slovenia Slovenia 01991-06-2525 Jun 1991
South Africa South Africa 01995-04-3030 Apr 1995
South Korea South Korea 02007-07-1414 Jul 2007
Spain Spain 01978-09-2525 Sep 1978
Suriname Suriname 01975-11-2525 Nov 1975
Swaziland Swaziland 01968-09-066 Sep 1968
Sweden Sweden 01999-05-011 May 1999
Switzerland Switzerland 01973-03-1111 Mar 1973
Tonga Tonga 01970-06-044 Jun 1970
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago 02000-07-1414 Jul 2000
Turkey Turkey 01985-09-2929 Sep 1985
Ukraine Ukraine 02003-12-2222 Dec 2003
United Kingdom United Kingdom 01965-01-2424 Jan 1965 including Crown Dependencies and
British Overseas Territories
United States United States 01981-10-1515 Oct 1981
Uruguay Uruguay 02012-10-1414 Oct 2012
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan 02012-04-1515 Apr 2012 Austria, Belgium, Germany and Greece
Vanuatu Vanuatu 01980-07-3030 Jul 1980
Venezuela Venezuela 01999-03-1616 Mar 1999

Abuse [edit]

The Apostille does not give information regarding the quality of the document, but certifies the signature (and the capacity of who placed it) and correctness of the seal/stamp on the document which must be certified. In 2005 The Hague Conference surveyed its members and produced a report in December 2008 which expressed serious concerns about Diplomas and Degree certificates, titled "THE APPLICATION OF THE APOSTILLE CONVENTION TO DIPLOMAS INCLUDING THOSE ISSUED BY DIPLOMA MILLS". The possible abuse of the system was highlighted "Particularly troubling is the possible use of diploma mill qualifications to circumvent migration controls, possibly by potential terrorists." (page 5) The risk comes from the fact that the various government stamps give the document an air of authenticity without anyone having checked the underlying document. "An official looking certificate may be issued to a copy of a diploma mill qualification, and then subsequently issued with an Apostille, without anyone having ever verified the signature on, let alone the contents of, the diploma." (page 7) Further member states indicated "they would be obliged to issue an Apostille for certification of a certified copy of a diploma issued by a diploma mill". (page 15) The Hague Conference expressed concern as to whether this issue could affect the entire convention. "...the Apostille does not 'look through the certification' and does not relate to the diploma itself .... There is a clear risk that such practices may eventually undermine the effectiveness and therefore the successful operation of the Apostille Convention". (page 5)[11]

In February 2009 the Hague Conference decided to amend the wording on the Apostille to make it clear that no one was checking whether the document being attested was genuine or a fake. The new wording to be used was as follows. "This Apostille only certifies the signature, the capacity of the signer and the seal or stamp it bears. It does not certify the content of the document for which it was issued."[12]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "12: Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 16 January 2011. 
  2. ^ "ABCs of Apostilles p. 13". Hague Conference on Private International Law. 
  3. ^ "United Kingdom, Competent Authorities". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
  4. ^ Authentication 2009
  5. ^ Birth certificate application 2010
  6. ^ Crampton 2007
  7. ^ Apostiles n.d.
  8. ^ Apostille, MOFA Japan (website in Japanese)
  9. ^ MEA, India Legalisation of Documents.
  10. ^ a b Information on the application of the convention to Hong Kong and Macau
  11. ^ Permanent Bureau (December 2008). "The application of the Apostille Convention to diplomas including those issued by diploma mills". Hague Conference on Private International Law. 
  12. ^ Permanent Bureau (February 2009). "Conclusions and Recommendations of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Hague Apostille, Service, Taking of Evidence, and Access to Justice Conventions". Hague Conference on Private International Law. p. 13. 

External links [edit]

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