QUESTIONNAIRE OF JANUARY 2012 RELATING TO THE
HAGUE CONVENTION OF 5 OCTOBER 1961 ABOLISHING THE REQUIREMENT OF LEGALISATION FOR FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
(APOSTILLE CONVENTION)
drawn up by the Permanent Bureau
Document préliminaire No 1 de janvier 2012
à l'intention de la Commission spéciale de novembre 2012 sur le
fonctionnement pratique de la Convention Apostille
Preliminary Document No 1 of January 2012
for the attention of the Special Commission of November 2012 on the
practical operation of the Apostille Convention
QUESTIONNAIRE DE JANVIER 2012 PORTANT SUR LA
CONVENTION DE LA HAYE DU 5 OCTOBRE 1961 SUPPRIMANT L'EXIGENCE
DE LA LÉGALISATION DES ACTES PUBLICS ÉTRANGERS
(CONVENTION APOSTILLE)
établi par le Bureau Permanent
* * *
QUESTIONNAIRE OF JANUARY 2012 RELATING TO THE
HAGUE CONVENTION OF 5 OCTOBER 1961 ABOLISHING THE REQUIREMENT OF LEGALISATION FOR FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
(APOSTILLE CONVENTION)
drawn up by the Permanent Bureau
Table of contents
About this Questionnaire iii
Instructions for completion iii
Identification iv
Publication of responses iv
Part A - Questions for non-Contracting States A-1
Part B - Questions for Contracting States B-1
Section 1 Joining the Apostille Convention B-1
Section 2 Objections to accessions B-2
Section 3 The Apostille Section and publications B-2
Section 4 Operation and statistics B-2
Section 5 Competent Authorities B-5
Section 6 Substantive scope of the Apostille Convention B-6
Section 7 Access to Apostille services B-9
Section 8 Issuance of Apostilles B-12
Section 9 Register of Apostilles B-16
Section 10 The effect of Apostilles B-18
Section 11 The e-APP B-20
Section 12 Other B-20
About this Questionnaire
At its meeting from 5-7 April 2011, the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference on Private International Law agreed for work to be undertaken with a view to preparing the next Special Commission on the practical operation of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (“Apostille Convention”). As a result, the Permanent Bureau has drawn up the following questionnaire.
Responses to the questionnaire will assist the Permanent Bureau in its ongoing monitoring of the Apostille Convention and in ensuring the currency and accuracy of data contained on the “Apostille Section” of the Hague Conference website (< www.hcch.net >). The information and views provided by States will also assist the Permanent Bureau in defining the key issues to be addressed at the Special Commission, which is scheduled for 6-9 November 2012. With a view to facilitating discussions at the Special Commission, the Permanent Bureau will prepare a document synthesising and analysing the responses that are received on time.
States are kindly asked to submit their completed questionnaire by Friday, 27 April 2012. Completed questionnaires should be sent to the Permanent Bureau by e-mail to < secretariat@hcch.net > with subject line “Questionnaire – Apostille Convention – [State name]”.
Instructions for completion
Non‑Contracting States to the Apostille Convention are invited to respond to Part A of the questionnaire only. Contracting States are invited to respond to Part B only.
States should respond to each question electronically by:
checking the appropriate box provided (if applicable, more that one box may be checked); and/or
entering text, in either English or French, in the field provided (the field will expand automatically as the response is entered).
Certain questions may have multiple responses for States that have more than one Competent Authority or more than one territorial unit in which different systems of law apply. If this is the case, the authority responsible for completing and submitting the questionnaire may wish to consult the Competent Authorities or authorities in the territorial units to produce a consolidated response to the relevant questions.
States are kindly requested to submit a single response that accounts for all Competent Authorities and territorial units in which the Apostille Convention applies. If necessary, the space provided in each question for comments may be used to specify different practices among Competent Authorities or among territorial units.
The questionnaire is based on the 2008 questionnaire with special focus on aspects of the Apostille Convention that the Permanent Bureau considers to be at the forefront of current practice. If still applicable, a State may wish to copy its response to the 2008 questionnaire into its response to this questionnaire (cross-references to the corresponding questions of the 2008 questionnaire have been included to assist in this regard).
States are kindly requested not to change the format of the questionnaire. The current format allows responses to be extracted to facilitate their inclusion in a consolidated document, which the Permanent Bureau intends to circulate prior to the Special Commission. Any questions regarding the completion of this questionnaire may be submitted to the Permanent Bureau by e-mail to < secretariat@hcch.net >.
Identification
Name of State: Insert name of State (hereinafter “YOUR STATE”)
For follow-up purposes:
Name of contact person:
Name of authority/office:
Telephone number:
E-mail address:
Publication of responses
The publication on the Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website of responses to previous questionnaires on the operation of the Apostille Convention has proven to be extremely useful. These responses are regularly consulted by Competent Authorities, (other) government officials and authorities, judges, notaries, attorneys and other practitioners; they are also often referred to by the Permanent Bureau in its dealings with various stakeholders.
As a result, the Permanent Bureau intends to publish the responses to this questionnaire on the Hague Conference website. The Permanent Bureau will publish the response of a State in this manner unless, and to the extent that, the State objects to its response being so published (see box below).
If YOUR STATE objects to its response being published, please select one of the following:
YOUR STATE objects to ALL of its response being published on the Hague Conference website
YOUR STATE objects to the following parts of its response being published on the Hague Conference website:
Questions for non-Contracting States
Reasons for not being a Contracting State
a) Why is YOUR STATE not party to the Apostille Convention?
Please select one or more
Ü c.f. Q 1 of the 2008 questionnaire The internal law of YOUR STATE does not require foreign public documents to be legalised or subjected to a similar formality before having effect in YOUR STATE (see also Questions g) and h))
! If this is the/a reason, please note that the Apostille Convention may still offer benefits to YOUR STATE in respect of outgoing public documents (i.e., documents that have been executed in YOUR STATE and which are to be produced in another State). In other words, the simplified authentication process provided by the Apostille Convention would facilitate the use of these documents in any other State that is party to the Convention. The Convention thus offers important benefits to individuals and businesses of YOUR STATE in the course of their cross-border movements and activities.
There are legal obstacles in the internal legal system of YOUR STATE that prevent it from becoming a Party to the Convention – please specify:
YOUR STATE is concerned about the loss of revenue currently generated by legalising documents.
! The vast majority of States that are party to the Apostille Convention impose a fee for issuing Apostilles, thereby securing revenue streams following entry into force of the Convention.
There are other specific issues arising out of the Apostille Convention which dissuade YOUR STATE from joining the Apostille Convention – please specify:
YOUR STATE does not have the means or resources to properly implement the Apostille Convention
The question of becoming a Party to the Convention has never been examined in detail
The absence of a clause that would allow for the Apostille Convention to be extended to one or more territorial units is an obstacle to YOUR STATE, as a multi-unit State, joining the Convention
Other – please specify:
Comments:
Foreign direct investment
b) Is YOUR STATE aware of the Investing Across Borders Report of the World Bank Group, which finds that the Apostille Convention promotes a regulatory environment more conducive to foreign direct investment?
! The Investing Across Borders initiative compares the regulation of foreign direct investment (“FDI”) around the world. In 2010, the World Bank Group released its first report on Investing Across Borders, which surveyed 87 economies (available at < http://iab.worldbank.org >. One of the indicators used in the report to measure the ease with which a foreign company can start a business in a given economy was whether or not the Apostille Convention was in force for that economy. Accordingly, by being party to the Apostille Convention, a State can improve its FDI competitiveness. Yes
No
Comments: