Member countries of the 1961 Hague Convention. The main content of the convention

The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961considerably simplified the international document circulation. After ratifying the agreements reached at it, the countries that joined the convention pledged to recognize the documents created in the territory of other states that also signed it, without additional and lengthy procedures. This made it possible to significantly save time and money. Let's take a closer look at what the agreement was and find out who the countries of the 1961 Hague Convention were.

Reasons to convene a convention

But first, let's define what exactly made the international community think about the need to simplify the document circulation between the states.

Until 1961, the flow of documents between differentcountries was uncomfortable. In order for it to be recognized in another state, it was necessary to undergo an additional multistage procedure for consular legalization. Depending on the country, it could take even a few months. It used to happen that during this time the document has already lost its relevance.

He had to be notarized, translatedto the desired language. And the translator's signature also required a notarization. After this, a certificate was required in the Ministry of Justice and in the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that sent the document. In the end, it was necessary to legalize correspondence in the embassy of the country where it is sent.

In addition, the need to continuously producethe procedure for legalizing a large number of papers slowed the work of departments and consulates in other areas of activity, required the allocation of additional staff, which led to material costs.

Content of agreements

What is the essence of the agreement signed by the countries participating in the Hague Convention of 1961? Let's deal with this issue.

The agreements stated that all countries,who joined them, recognized official documents issued in the territory of other states participating in the agreement, valid without special consular legalization.

The only restriction was that this documentation, in order to confirm the authenticity of the signature and the authority of the person signing, was to be certified with an apostille.

What is Apostille?

What did the Hague Convention mean by this action? Apostille is a special square stamp containing certain requisites of the established sample.

This stamp is mandatory, regardlessfrom the country of origin and the country where the document will be provided, should be named "Apostille (The Hague Convention of October 5, 1961)" in French at the top. " Among the mandatory requisites that should have been present on the Apostille, you can name the following:

the name of the country that issued the apostille;
the name of the person who signed the document;
his position;
the name of the institution from which the documentation comes from;
a settlement in which the certificate was issued;
date of certification;
the name of the state institution that certifies the documentation;
ordinal number of the apostille;
the seal of the institution certifying the documentation;
signature of the official who made the certification.

In addition, the Hague Convention found thatthe standard size of the apostille must be at least 9 x 9 cm. In practice, the apostille does not always have a square shape, as was previously stated in the arrangements. For example, in Russia it often has the form of a rectangular die. In most cases, the receiving document side does not strongly quibble to differences with the standard apostille form, but there were precedents when it refused to recognize such documentation.

Nuances of using an apostille

The apostille language can be either one ofofficial languages of the convention (French or English), or the language of the country that put it. In the overwhelming majority of cases, bilingualism is used, that is, simultaneously the language of the country that issued the apostille and one of the official languages of the convention.

Apostille can be affixed either directly to the document to be certified, or to a separate piece of paper attached to it.

At present, in a number of statesthe question of the use of electronic apostilles is being developed. This issue has become very relevant in connection with the increasing spread of electronic document management. In particular, such countries include the USA, Australia, Andorra, Ukraine, New Zealand and other countries.

Where is the apostille?

Let's find out on which specific documents the countries-participants of the Hague Convention of 1961 are apostilled.

To such a list of documents relatescorrespondence of government agencies or other organizations that are subject to the jurisdiction of a particular country, notarial acts, administrative documents, as well as various official notes and visas for the certification of the date. Also, an apostille certifies any signature of a document that was not attested by a notary.

Exceptions to the Hague Convention

At the same time, there are a number of conditions under which the document circulation between different countries does not even need an apostille, as required by the Hague Convention.

First of all, the workflow is more simplifiedform is carried out in the event that between countries there is a bilateral agreement on the admission of documents without additional formalities. In this case, even if both countries are parties to the Hague Convention, to confirm the authenticity of the documents it is not required to put an apostille. It is enough to attach a notarized translation of the document. A similar agreement among themselves is, for example, Austria and Germany, as well as many other countries. But these are bilateral agreements between countries, and not a separate convention for several states.

Also, you do not need to put an apostille in the event that the foreign organization where you send the document does not require special assurances.

Documents required by the Apostille that are issued directly from diplomatic and consular institutions are not required.

The last exception is the paper,related to customs operations or that are of a commercial nature. But when separating commercial activities from non-profit, problems may arise, since there is no clear distinction. For example, many banking documents, which can be attributed to commercial operations, are nevertheless certified by an apostille.

Signing of the Convention

The terms of the convention were negotiated at the Conference on Private International Law in The Hague in 1961.

This Conference was held in the Dutch citysince 1893. The aim of the states participating in it was to unify international private law (IPP), to rid it of unnecessary formalism and red tape. By 1955, the Conference had become a full-fledged organization with member states.

In different years, during the Conference on IPP,there were signed conventions on civil procedure, access to justice, the right to purchase and sale of goods and many others. At one such meeting in 1961, the Convention on the Legalization of Foreign Documents was signed.

Countries Parties to the Convention

Participation in the development of the Convention was accepted by allStates that for 1961 were members of the Conference on IPP. Let's find out who the countries-participants of the 1961 Hague Convention are. This will allow us to determine the backbone of the states that were primarily concerned with lifting restrictions on the legalization of documents.

These countries include: Sweden, Spain, Great Britain, Greece, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Turkey, Finland, Germany. Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Egypt and Portugal. Argentina, Brazil, India, the USSR, the United States, China and many other major countries of the world were not members of the Conference on IPP, and therefore they did not take part in the development of agreements.

First countries that have acceded to the Convention

At the same time, it should be noted that the development ofagreements on the application of an apostille did not yet mean the automatic entry into force of this provision on the territory of the participating countries. No, they all had to take an additional decision on accession and ratify it, according to domestic legislation. At the same time, countries that did not participate in its development could join the Convention.

The first states on the territory of whichThe United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Hong Kong have become the Convention. This happened only four years after the signing of the agreements, in 1965. The following year, Germany, Botswana, Barbados and Lesotho joined. A year later - Malawi, and in 1968 - Austria, Malta, Mauritius and Swaziland.

Further connections

In the next two decades, the treatycountries such as Tonga, Japan, Fiji, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal, Argentina, Macao, Cyprus, the Bahamas, Suriname, Italy, Israel, Spain, the Dominican Republic, Seychelles, Luxembourg, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Vanuatu, United States. It is especially important to join the last of these countries. At the end of the above period, the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Norway, Greece, Turkey, Finland, Brunei joined the Convention.

In 1991, the number of participating countries increasedSlovenia, Panama, Macedonia, the USSR and Croatia. In 1992, Russia joined the treaty, as the legal successor to the disintegrating USSR. France particularly welcomed this event. From this moment, you can apply apostille in our country.

In addition, in the same year, the parties to the treatySteel Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Belarus, Marshall Islands. In 1993, only one country joined the treaty - Belize. But next year the Convention was ratified by two countries - Saint Kitts and Nevis, and then Armenia. These countries were immediately entitled to freely use the apostille in virtually all states of the treaty, including Russia and the United States. Australia and Mexico became members of the Convention next year. Undoubtedly, the accession of these large countries strengthened the positions of this community. In 1995, the Republic of South Africa and San Marino also joined the treaty.

Over the past 15 years, the Convention has been ratifiedalso Latvia, Liberia, El Salvador, Andorra, Lithuania, Niue, Ireland, Czech Republic, Venezuela, Sweden, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Romania, Bulgaria. Estonia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Monaco, Ukraine, Albania, Iceland, Honduras, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Poland, Montenegro, Denmark, Moldova, Georgia, Sao Tome and Principe, Mongolia, Cape Verde, Peru, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Oman, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Bahrain, Paraguay, Burundi. The most recent, as early as 2016, were joined by Kosovo, Brazil, Morocco and Chile.

The problem of recognition

But all the same, not all countries participating in the HagueThe 1961 conventions recognize the apostills of other members. The reasons for this can be either technical or formal, or political. For example, many countries in the world do not recognize Kosovo as a state. For this reason Ukraine does not recognize the apostille of this country, Serbia, Belarus, Russia. France, on the contrary, recognizes the apostils of all Member States.

For technical reasons the apostille of Ukraine until 2012 did not recognize Greece.

The meaning of the Hague Convention

It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the Hague Convention. After its adoption, the document circulation between different countries has become much easier. Every year, all new states join the Convention: South Africa, Venezuela, Kosovo, Chile ...

After the adoption of the Convention,ratified it, you do not need to go through a lengthy and inconvenient procedure for legalizing documents. Therefore, even such small island states as the Marshall Islands, Antigua and Barbuda and Cape Verde signed an agreement.