Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents
| The Apostille Convention or Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents solves the very extensive process of authentication of foreign documents. |
Earlier, all documents that went from one country to another for the use of the latter, had to go through a long drawn legalization process, aimed at satisfying the foreign court or individual that the document in question was indeed authentic. The Apostille Convention replaces this, and its purpose has been stated as “to abolish the requirement that public documents intended for use in a country other than their country of origin be legalized (i.e., authenticated, or certified) by a diplomatic or consular officer of the country of use, who is stationed in the country of the document’s origin (the legalization being often the last step in the “chain-certificate” method of document certification)”.
The Convention instead works with a single government entity, thereby cutting down formalities of legalization to the minimum. Its application extends to public documents divided into four types - documents originating from an authority or an official linked with the State courts, tribunals, public prosecutors, court clerks or process servers, administrative documents and official certificates. Documents that are specifically not covered by the Convention include those executed by consular agents or diplomats, and administrative documents that directly deal with customs or commercial operations.
However, the Apostille has come under a lot of criticism, since many feel that its lack of provisions for encroachment and no time period for retaining registrations do not work. Even then, the benefits have greatly improved the way public documents are used across borders.
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