Which Countries Are Signatories to the Hague Convention and What Does This Mean for Document Legalization?

The Hague Convention is a treaty designed to offer cooperation sovereign states provide recognition and enforcement of judgments in the legal or commercial matter. It was founded in 1989 and has member countries that participate in this treaty. Parties to the Hague Convention are bound by the Convention and have a legal requirement to enforce the judgements of the other signatory states.

The importance of the Hague Convention is anchored on the fact that the convention enhances legal certainty and reduces uncertainty in cross-border transactions. Through recognition and enforcement of the judgments, the convention makes it possible for an individual or businesspersons to be granted and enforce judgment in the contracting countries.

The countries that are members of Hague Convention are as follows:

SNO	REGION	COUNTRY	AUTHORITIES
1	Europe	Albania	Ministry of Justice
2		Andorra	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
3		Armenia	Ministry of Justice
4		Austria	District Courts (Bezirksgerichte)
5		Azerbaijan	Ministry of Justice
6		Belarus	Ministry of Justice
7		Belgium	Federal Public Service (FPS) Foreign Affairs
8		Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ministry of Justice
9		Bulgaria	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
10		Croatia	Ministry of Justice
11		Cyprus	Ministry of Justice and Public Order
12		Czech Republic	Ministry of Justice
13		Denmark	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
14		Estonia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
15		Finland	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
16		France	Courts of Appeal
17		Georgia	Ministry of Justice
18		Germany	District Courts (Landgerichte)
19		Greece	Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights
20		Hungary	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
21		Iceland	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
22		Ireland	Department of Foreign Affairs
23		Italy	Public Prosecutors (Procure della Repubblica)
24		Kazakhstan	Ministry of Justice
25		Kosovo	Ministry of Justice
26		Latvia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
27		Lithuania	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
28		Luxembourg	Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
29		Malta	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
30		Moldova, Republic of	Ministry of Justice
31		Monaco	Ministry of State (Ministère d'État)
32		Montenegro	Ministry of Justice
33		Netherlands	District Courts (Rechtbanken)
34		North Macedonia, Republic of	Ministry of Justice
35		Norway	County Governor (Fylkesmannen)
36		Poland	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
37		Portugal	Ministry of Justice
38	Americas	Antigua and Barbuda	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
39		Argentina	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
40		Bahamas	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
41		Barbados	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
42		Belize	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
43		Bolivia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
44		Brazil	National Council of Justice (CNJ)
45		Canada	Not a member of the Apostille Convention (not applicable)
46		Chile	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
47		Colombia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
48		Costa Rica	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship
49		Dominica	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
50		Dominican Republic	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
51		Ecuador	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility
52		El Salvador	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
53		Grenada	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
54		Guatemala	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
55		Guyana	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
56		Honduras	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
57		Jamaica	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
58		Mexico	Secretariat of Foreign Affairs
59		Nicaragua	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
60		Panama	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
61		Paraguay	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
62		Peru	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
63		Trinidad and Tobago	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Affairs
64		United States of America	Secretary of State offices in individual states
65		Uruguay	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
66		Venezuela	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
67	Asia-Pacific	Australia	Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
68		Brunei Darussalam	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
69		China, People's Republic of	Not a member of the Apostille Convention (not applicable)
70		Hong Kong	High Court
71		Macao	Secretary for Administration and Justice
72		Cook Islands	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration
73		Fiji	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
74		India	Ministry of External Affairs
75		Indonesia	Ministry of Law and Human Rights
76		Japan	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
77		Korea, Republic of	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
78		Kyrgyzstan	Ministry of Justice
79		Malaysia	Not a member of the Apostille Convention (not applicable)
80		Marshall Islands	Attorney General's Office
81		Mongolia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
82		New Zealand	Department of Internal Affairs
83		Niue	Ministry of Justice
84		Palau	Ministry of Justice
85		Philippines	Department of Foreign Affairs
86		Singapore	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
87	Africa	Botswana	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
88		Burundi	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
89		Cape Verde	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
90		Lesotho	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations
91		Liberia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
92		Malawi	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
93		Mauritius	Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade
94		Morocco	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
95		Namibia	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
96		Seychelles	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism
97		South Africa	Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)
98		Swaziland	Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
99		Tonga	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
100	Middle East	Bahrain	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
101		Israel	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
102		Oman	Ministry of Foreign Affairs
103		Turkey	Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Advantages of the Hague Convention are as follows:

1. Adequate Notice:

Hague convention provides that Parties receive due notice of the proceedings against them and ensures its veracity.

2. Uniform Standards:

It has simplified procedures for the issuance of judgements and its enforcement thus reducing on complications and ambiguity.

3. Faster Execution:

It can be launched by the parties and enforced across different countries with the help of the judgments obtained without the necessity to launch additional legal actions in the states of location.

4. Cost Savings:

Hague convention reduces overlapping lawsuits hence reducing costs incurred by parties to the lawsuit.

5. International Cooperation:

It establishes organizational relationships between countries and helps in the settlement of actions arising out of breaching internal laws of a nation.

Implications for Document Legalization

To the extent that foreign judgments may be enforced in the domestic courts of the member countries, this has relevance’s for document legalization under the Hague convention. It is important for legal documents that are to be legalized be done so in accordance with the provision of the Hague Convention at the time of legalization.

1. Apostille Convention:

As it has been earlier seen most of the countries that are party to the Hague Convention have also ratified the Apostille Convention. This convention can therefore be considered as having made legalization easier by the way it has done away with consular legalization. The documents that are given the Apostille are considered legal and admissible in all the countries, which are signatories to the pact.

2. Country-Specific Requirements:

Every country which is a signatory to this may possess requirements of its own on the process of authentication and legalization of documents. Such requirements may be attestation by public notary, consular legalization or legalization by any other authorized institution. Countries may have laws regarding the acknowledge ability of documents and thereby it is important to follow those rules in order to make documents valid.

3. Document Processing Time:

The legalization process may therefore differ from country to country and according to the special provisions contained within it. Enough time must be set apart to enable the document to go through the processing and legalizing process so that to avoid time consumption in handling legal matters.

The relevance of the Hague Convention is traced from the element of legal certainty and predictability of cross border transaction. Some of the effects of the convention are that parties to the convention give effect to the judgments given by any other country that is party to the convention on document legalization. Parties submitting legal documents for legalization must ensure that the documents have been authenticated and legalized in terms of the provisions of the Hague Convention and in terms of the country specific requirement.