One commun question by my clients when they are granting to me power of attorney in the UK is : What is that of the Hague Apostille? It was time for me to introduce you to a good explanation of this.
The Hague Convention abolished the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents on the 5th in October of 1961 and this convention entered into force on the 24th in January of 1965.
Which documents need to be apostilled?
Public documents emanating from an authority or official, such as:
- Documents from a court or tribunal of the State (including documents issued by an administrative, constitutional or ecclesiastical court or tribunal, a public prosecutor, a clerk or a process-server);
- Administrative 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.
Which documents are apostilled in practice?
Birth, marriage and death certificates; extracts from commercial registers and other registers; patents; court rulings; notarial acts and notarial attestations of signatures; academic diplomas issued by public institutions.
The provisions of the Convention do not specify whether Apostilles should only be issued for original public documents or whether they may also be affixed to certified copies of public documents. However, in light of its practical importance, this question was expressly addressed by the 2003 Special Commission (SC). The Conclusion / Recommendation N° 11 of the meeting reads as follows: "Regarding the application of an Apostille to a certified copy of a public document, the SC concluded that Article 1 of the Convention applies. Individual States, however, may decline to issue an Apostille to the certified copy of a document on the grounds of public policy".
More information can be found at the official website of the Hague Convention, including the full text of the Hague Convention on Apostille.
By Maria L. de Castro
web@costaluzlawyers.es
www.costaluzlawyers.es
Caños de Meca ( Cadiz). By cabezadeturco at Flickr.com