A State that has not signed the Convention must indicate how foreign legal documents can be certified for its use. Two countries may have a special convention on the mutual recognition of official documents, but in practice this is rare. Otherwise, the document must be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of origin and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the State in which the document is used; One of the certifications is often done in an embassy or consulate. In practice, this means that the document must be certified twice before it can produce legal effects in the recipient country. For example, since Canada is not a signatory, Canadian documents must be certified for use abroad by the Under-Secretary of State in Ottawa or by a Canadian consular officer abroad, and then by the appropriate government agency or consulate of the host state. Each Contracting State shall exempt from legalization instruments to which this Convention applies and which must be presented in its territory. For the purposes of this Convention, legalization shall mean only the formality whereby the diplomatic or consular agents of the country where the document is to be presented certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp bearing it. This is a question that must be addressed to the authorities of the country where the documents are filed. Here are the countries that are party to the Apostille Convention (Hague Convention 12) and that the Convention is in force with the United States of America. The official list can be consulted on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law: hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41 The apostille may be requested in order to transmit public documents issued in one signatory country to another signatory country where the documents must be presented. The Hague Convention defines “authentic instruments” as: This Convention shall apply to authentic instruments issued in the territory of a Contracting State and to be filed in the territory of another Contracting State.
The apostille does not provide information about the quality of the content of the underlying document, but certifies the signature (and the capacity of who placed it) and the accuracy of the seal/stamp on the document that needs to be certified. In 2005, the Hague Conference consulted its members and, in December 2008, presented a report expressing serious concerns about diplomas and diplomas awarded by diploma factories. The possible abuse of the system was highlighted: “The possible use of diploma factory qualifications to circumvent migration controls, possibly by potential terrorists, is of particular concern.” (page 5) The risk arises from the fact that the various government stamps add a touch of authenticity to the document without anyone having verified the underlying document. “A certificate of official appearance can be issued on a copy of a diploma mill qualification and then issued with an apostille without anyone ever verifying the signature on the diploma, let alone the content of the diploma.” (page 7) Other Member States have indicated that “they would be obliged to issue an apostille certifying a certified copy of a diploma issued by a diploma factory”. (page 15) The Evaluation Committee of the Hague Conference expressed concern as to whether this issue might affect the Convention as a whole. “. The apostille “does not look through the certification” and does not refer to the diploma itself. There is a clear risk that such practices may ultimately undermine the effectiveness and thus the proper functioning of the Apostille Convention. (page 5) [14] Documents issued by the federal government for use in countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention may be required to be certified by an apostille issued by the U.S. Department of State. Documents signed by the following officials require an apostille issued by the United States. Department of State: The text of the Convention of 5.
October 1961, which abolished the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents, as well as the list of States Parties to the Convention and the authorities of each State responsible for the apostille of a document, are available at the following link: Hague Convention on Exemption from Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, The Apostille Convention or Apostille Treaty is an international treaty, prepared by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. It lays down the procedures according to which a document issued in one of the signatory States may be certified for legal purposes in all the other signatory States. A certificate according to the provisions of the Convention is called apostille (from Latin post illa then French: marginal note) or Hague Apostille. [2] This is an international certification comparable to a notarial certification under national law and usually complements a local notarial certification of the act. If the convention applies between two countries, such an apostille is sufficient to certify the validity of a document and eliminates the need for double certification by the country of origin and then by the recipient country. For the purposes of this Convention: For more information on countries participating in the 1961 Hague Convention (Abolition of the Obligation to Legalize Foreign Public Documents – Article 12), see Each State Party shall take the necessary measures to prevent the implementation of legalizations by its diplomatic or consular agents in cases where this Convention provides for an exception. is planned. Documents that require legalization with an apostille by the U.S. Department of State are those signed by a federal official with that agency`s official seal, a U.S. consular officer, a military notary (10 USC 1044a), or a foreign consul (diplomatic officers must be registered with the Office of Protocol).
Note: These documents must contain the title of the public servant and his/her signature must be legible. Please also note that the U.S. Department of State does not issue apostille for government-issued documents. However, the formality referred to in the preceding paragraph may not be required if the laws, regulations or practices of the State in which the document is presented, or an agreement between two or more Contracting States, have repealed or simplified it or have exempted the document itself from legalization. Technically, an apostille never expires once it has been issued. However, certain factors can render an apostilled document unusable in certain situations. If you plan to use a document or certificate on which you purchased an apostille outside of convention, you may need to edit the document again. For example, if you`re applying for a work permit in China, the apostille on your documents must have been issued within the last six months to be valid for your application.[15] .