Georgia joined the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961

Apostille

The Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents entered into force for Georgia from May 14, 2007.The documents to be used on the territory of Hague Convention member-states will be legalized by Georgia’s competent authorities through affixing the apostille. The requirement of legalization for documents issued by Georgia’s official authorities shall remain in force for the Federal Republic of Germany and the Hellenic Republic as well as all other countries that are not members of the above-said Convention.The Hague Convention member states that are also members of the Minsk 1993 Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations on Civil, Family and Criminal Matters will accept the documents without any kind of certification (legalization, apostille).

What is Apostille? 

The certification of the authenticity by Apostille means the certification by the State of the identity of the signature on the document, the capacity of the person signing the document and the authenticity of the seal or stamp.

The procedure of certifying the authenticity by Apostille lies in certifying the authenticity of the document by special inscription of unified form, the so-called “Apostille ” by the State that issued a document on the basis of applicant’s request.

After certifying the authenticity by the Apostille the document does not require additional certification or legalization and is accepted without restrictions by the official authorities of the countries which are the member-states of the Hague Convention.

Apostille and Legalization

Nowadays any document issued by the official authorities of Georgia that are designated to be used abroad requires legalization by internal authorities. Legalization in Georgia includes three consistent stages: first - certification by the Notary, then – certification of signatures of the officials by the Ministry of Justice and the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. Afterwards, the final, fourth stage is the legalization of document at the Consular Post of the appropriate country where this document will be presented.

The Hague Convention will simplify the procedure of certification of the official documents. The Apostille will be placed on the document itself or on a separate paper, which will be attached to the document. The documents certified by the Apostille and issued by the relevant authorities of Georgia will be used on the territory of the member-states of the Convention without restriction.

Furthermore, it should be taken into account, that in case of annulling of the requirements of consular legislation, documents issued by the state authorities of foreign countries and certified by the Apostille, will be used on the territory of Georgia without legalization by the Consular Posts of Georgia abroad.     

The Member-states of the Hague Convention

The majority of the European countries and also the part of the countries in Asia are the members of the Hague Convention. According to the current information this number equals to 85. This quantity is increasing every year.

These countries are: Australia, Republic of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Antilles, Republic of Argentina, Republic of Armenia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Republic of Belarus, Belize, Bermuda, Republic of Bulgaria, Kingdom of Belgium, Republic of Botswana, Bosnia-Herzegovina, State of Negara Brunei Darussalam, Kingdom of Denmark, Virgin Islands of Britain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Republic of Hungary, Republic of Venezuela, Virginia Islands, Federal Republic of Germany, Grenada, Republic of Greece, Gibraltar, Honduras, Hong-Kong (China), Republic of Dominica, the State of Israel, Republic of India, Ireland, Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Spain, Republic of Italy, Cayman Islands, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Korea, Comoros Islands, Cook Islands, Republic of Latvia, the Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Lithuania, Principality of Liechtenstein, Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Malawi, Macao Special Administrative Region, Republic of Malta, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Republic of Moldova Montenegro, Republic of Kazakhstan, Columbia, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Niue, the Kingdom of Norway, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Republic of Panama, Poland, Republic of Portugal, Puerto-Rico, Romania, Isle of Man, Russian Federation, Republic of El-Salvador, Georgia, Republic of San-Marino, Samoa, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Republic of Seychelles, Serbia and Montenegro, Republic of Slovenia, Serbia, Slovakia, USA, Republic of Suriname, Kingdom of Tonga, Republic of Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, People's Republic of China, Republic of the Fiji Islands, Czech Republic, Republic of Finland, Falkland Islands, Republic of France, Croatia, Swiss Confederation, Kingdom of Sweden, Ukraine, Ecuador, Republic of Estonia, Republic of South Africa, Japan.

http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.text&cid=41