On October 5, 1961 in Hague the decision of International Convention canceled the demand for legalization of the official foreign documents for the countries, which have signed the Convention. Upon the decision of the Convention, the special stamp – the apostille – was arranged. The apostille is the unitized form and is affixed on the official documents, which are liable for submission in other countries. For today the Hague Convention unites more than 80 countries and is opened for joining of all interested countries in the world.
It should be noted that the effect of the Hague Convention is spread solely to the official documents, issued by the state establishments, and has nothing to do with the documents of the business character. So, the official documents, which may be legalized with the help of the apostilization, are:
- Notarial documents;
- Documents, issued by the courts of different instances, including the documents issued by the prosecutor and the Enforcement Service;
- Documents of administrative nature;
- Official certificates, as well as official or notarial certification of the signature authenticity.
The action of the Convention doesn’t cover:
- The documents, which are issued in consular and diplomatic services;
- The documents which are connected with handling of customs, trading or tax operations.
Countries of the Hague Convention:
