[e-Notarization Forum]

The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and the International Union of Latin Notaries (IULN) are jointly organising an International Forum on e-Notarization and e-Apostilles. This Forum will be hosted by the National Notary Association of the United States of America (NNA) and will be held on 30 and 31 May 2005 in Las Vegas (Bally’s), Nevada, USA.

The goals of the Forum may be summarised as follows:

1. Conducting a representative international survey of technologies for e-Notarization currently available or in the process of being developed;

 

2. Assessment of these technologies, in particular with respect to their possible relevance for e-Apostilles;

3. Legal analysis of the impact of these technologies on the Apostille Convention. In particular: do electronic public documents, in particular notarial acts and official certificates, fall within the scope of the Convention? Does the current framework of the Convention allow for issuance and circulation of e-Apostilles?

The Special Commission of October / November 2003 on the Practical Operation of the Apostille, Evidence and Service Conventions had identified four stages in the issuing of an Apostille in respect of which the application of modern technology might be considered. It also recommended that “States party and the Permanent Bureau should work towards the development of techniques for the generation of electronic Apostilles” (Recommendation No 24). This Forum initiative is thus held with a view to beginning action in line with this Recommendation.

For the provisional programme, click here.

The working languages of the Forum will be English, French and Spanish.

Registration/Costs

Experts officially designated by a Member State of the HCCH before Monday, 18 April 2005 do not need to register for the Forum (upon receipt of an official expert designation from a Member State, the Permanent Bureau will ensure registration of these experts, as indicated in the official invitation sent to the National Organs on 9 March 2005).

Experts from non-Member States of the HCCH, as well as experts from Member States who are not officially designated by their respective government, are invited to register online by using the following web-portal: http://www.nationalnotary.org/conf/HCCH (see the "Registration" tab).

All participants will pay for their own travel and hotel costs. For information relating to hotel reservations (incl. applicable rates), airport transportation, etc., see the web-portal: http://www.nationalnotary.org/conf/HCCH (see the "Conference Details" tab).

Also, a registration fee of 195 US$ per participant will be charged (except to presenters and speakers designated by the HCCH, the IULN or the NNA). In the case of experts officially designated by HCCH Member States a fee waiver will apply to at least one and, depending on the final number of Member States represented at the Forum, possibly two experts. For experts from non-Member States, the registration fee will not be waived.

For the information brochure click here.

For more information about the Forum,
please contact First Secretary Christophe Bernasconi
(cb@hcch.nl, with a copy to mc@hcch.nl).