Volume 6, Number 3, Page 5

Venezuela Eliminates the Requirement to Certify Foreign Public Documents

By Eugenio Hernández-Bretón

Venezuela recently decided to adhere to the inter-national "Convention to Eliminate the Requirement for the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents" (the "Convention"), signed at The Hague, October 5, 1961. Venezuela's adhesion to the Convention means that in 1999 the process for legalizing foreign documents will be much simpler than in the past.

When the Convention enters into effect, it will repeal the burdensome requirements for legalizing foreign public documents executed in signatory countries. Presently, the legalization of public documents is a lengthy process requiring diplomatic or consular agents in the country in which the document was executed to certify the signature, the signatory authority and the seal or stamp of the document. Under the Convention, this function will be replaced with an "apostille" issued by the competent authority of the country issuing the document, saving both time and money.

The apostille will be issued according to the model provided in the Convention, and will be placed on the document or any attachment thereto. It may be written in the official language of the issuing country and may also be written in a second language. The title "Apostille", however, must be written in French. The signatures, seals, or stamps on the apostille need not be certified in order to be valid in other participating countries. For Venezuela, if the documents are executed in any language other than Spanish, they must then be translated by a public interpreter prior to being presented to the Venezuelan authorities.

The Convention will only take effect in Venezuela once all its requirements have been met. The Venezuelan government must first file the adhesion document with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To do so, Venezuela must officially notify this Ministry of its adhesion to the Convention and must identify the Venezuelan official who will be authorized to issue the apostille on Venezuelan documents.

Each country will have six months from the date it is notified of Venezuela's adhesion to raise any objections with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While no objections are likely, it is a possibility. The United States, for example, objected to the adhesion of Liberia; as a result, the convention is not in force between those two countries.

After the six-month period expires, a 60-day period begins to run, after which the Convention will be in effect between Venezuela and each signatory country not objecting to the adhesion. The Convention will thus have successive effective dates, depending on the date the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs notifies each contracting country.

The Convention should enter into effect some time in 1999. For non-contracting countries, the present requirement for the legalization of documents continues unchanged. n

Eugenio Hernández-Bretón is an attorney with Baker and McKenzie in Caracas, Venezuela