Text of the Hague Convention on Apostille (Translation)
This is a convention adopted in 1961 that abolishes the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents among the Convention’s member states.
The list of member states of the Hague Convention is constantly growing, includes countries from different continents of the world, and as of 20 June 2022 comprises 165 countries. All countries of Europe – both Western and Eastern – have joined the Hague Convention.
The apostille was introduced in countries that signed the Convention on the Apostille of 1961 on various dates. Every 3-4 years, 2-3 countries join the convention.
The most recent country to join the Convention is Pakistan (as of 1 July 2022).
In accordance with the Hague Convention, the apostille determines the degree of relative certainty between two countries regarding the authenticity and accuracy of translated documents.
It should be noted that work is constantly being carried out on the Apostille to improve the procedure, its transparency, and to inform the population of the countries that are part of the convention.
In particular, the last meeting of the Special Commission on the practical application of the Apostille took place on 5-8 October 2021. One of the issues considered by the commission was the format of multilingual apostilles.
Text of the Convention on Apostille
CONVENTION ABOLISHING THE REQUIREMENT OF LEGALISATION FOR FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
(Concluded 5 October 1961)
The States signatory to the present Convention, desiring to abolish the requirement of diplomatic or consular legalisation for foreign public documents,
Have resolved to conclude a Convention to this effect and have agreed upon the following provisions:
Article 1
The present Convention shall apply to public documents which have been executed in the territory of one Contracting State and have to be produced in the territory of another Contracting State.
For the purposes of the present Convention, the following are deemed to be public documents:
(a) documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with the courts or tribunals of the State, including those emanating from a public prosecutor, a clerk of a court or a process server;
(b) administrative documents;
(c) notarial documents;d) 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.
However, the present Convention shall not apply:
a) to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;
b) to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations.
Article 2
Each Contracting State shall exempt from legalisation documents to which the present Convention applies and which have to be produced in its territory. For the purposes of the present Convention, legalisation means only the formality by which the diplomatic or consular agents of the country in which the document has to be produced certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears.
Article 3
The only formality that may be required in order to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the authenticity of the seal or stamp which it bears, is the addition of the certificate described in Article 4, issued by the competent authority of the State from which the document emanates.
However, the formality mentioned in the preceding paragraph cannot be required when either the laws, regulations, or practice in force in the State from which the document emanates, or an agreement between two or more Contracting States, have abolished or simplified it, or exempt the document itself from legalisation.
Article 4
The certificate referred to in the first paragraph of Article 3 shall be placed on the document itself or on an “allonge”; it shall be in the form of the model annexed to the present Convention.
It may, however, be drawn up in the official language of the authority which issues it. The standard terms appearing therein may be in another language as well. The title “Apostille (Convention of 5 October 1961)” shall be in French.
Article 5
The certificate shall be issued at the request of the person who has signed the document or of any bearer thereof.When properly completed, it certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears.
The signature, seal and stamp on the certificate are exempt from any certification.
Article 6
Each Contracting State shall designate, by reference to their official function, the authorities competent to issue the certificate referred to in the first paragraph of Article 3.
It shall notify such designation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at the time of deposit of its instrument of ratification or of accession or of its declaration of extension. It shall also notify any change in the designated authorities.
Article 7
Each of the authorities designated in accordance with Article 6 shall keep a register or card index in which it records the certificates issued, specifying:
(a) the number and date of the certificate,
(b) the name of the person signing the public document and the capacity in which he or she acted, or in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority which affixed the seal or stamp.
At the request of any interested person, the authority which issued the certificate shall verify whether the particulars in the certificate correspond with those in the register or card index.
Article 8
If a treaty, convention or agreement between two or more Contracting States contains provisions which subject the certification of a signature, seal or stamp to certain formalities, the present Convention shall prevail over such provisions only if those formalities are more stringent than the formalities referred to in Articles 3 and 4.
Article 9
Each Contracting State shall take the necessary measures to prevent the performance of legalisations by its diplomatic or consular agents in cases where the present Convention provides for exemption.
Article 10
The present Convention shall be open for signature by the States represented at the Ninth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, as well as by Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Turkey. It shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Article 11This Convention shall enter into force on the sixtieth day after the deposit of the third instrument of ratification referred to in the second paragraph of Article 10.
The Convention shall enter into force for each signatory State which subsequently ratifies it on the sixtieth day after the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
Article 12
Any State not mentioned in Article 10 may accede to this Convention after its entry into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
Such accession shall have effect only as regards the relations between the acceding State and those Contracting States which have not raised an objection to its accession within six months after the receipt of the notification referred to in sub‑paragraph d) of Article 15. Any such objection shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
The Convention shall enter into force as between the acceding State and the States which have raised no objection to its accession on the sixtieth day after the expiry of the period of six months referred to in the preceding paragraph.
Article 13
Any State may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all the territories for the international relations of which it is responsible, or to one or more of them. Such a declaration shall take effect on the date of entry into force of the Convention for that State.
At any time thereafter, such extensions shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
When the declaration of extension is made by a State which has signed and ratified the Convention, the Convention shall enter into force for the territories concerned in accordance with Article 11. When the declaration of extension is made by a State which has acceded to the Convention, the Convention shall enter into force for the territories concerned in accordance with Article 12.
Article 14
This Convention shall remain in force for five years from the date of its entry into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11, even for States which have ratified it or acceded to it subsequently.If no denunciation has been made, the Convention is tacitly renewed every five years.
Any denunciation must be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at least six months before the end of the five-year period.
It may be limited to certain territories to which the Convention applies.
The denunciation shall take effect only in respect of the State that has notified it. The Convention shall remain in force for the other Contracting States.
Article 15
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands shall notify the States referred to in Article 10 and the States that have acceded in accordance with Article 12 of the following:
(a) the notifications referred to in the second paragraph of Article 6;
(b) the signatures and ratifications referred to in Article 10;
(c) the date on which this Convention enters into force in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 11;
(d) the accessions and objections referred to in Article 12 and the date on which such accessions take effect;
(e) the extensions referred to in Article 13 and the date on which they take effect;
(f) the denunciations referred to in the third paragraph of Article 14.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Convention.
Done at The Hague on 5 October 1961, in the French and English languages, the French text prevailing in case of divergence between the two texts, in a single copy, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Netherlands, and of which a certified copy shall be sent, through diplomatic channels, to each of the States represented at the Ninth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, as well as to Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein and Turkey.