Tajikistan joins the Apostille Convention as 108th Contracting State and becomes 145th Connected State

This afternoon, Tajikistan deposited its instrument of accession to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention). Following the usual procedural steps, the Convention will enter into force for Tajikistan on 31 October 2015, making it the 108th Contracting State to the Convention. As the Apostille Convention is the first Hague Convention to be joined by Tajikistan, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) now also has 145 Connected States (i.e. States that are either a Member or a non-Member Contracting State).

At the ceremony, which took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr Rustamjon Soliev, Ambassador of Tajikistan, represented the Embassy of Tajikistan. On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Head of the Treaties Division Mr Joseph Damoiseaux, Senior Policy Officer Mr Jan Rinzema and Legal Officer Mr Mark Groen also attended the ceremony. Secretary General Mr Christophe Bernasconi and Legal Officer Mr Brody Warren represented the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH.

Prior to the accession of Tajikistan, the Permanent Bureau led two separate technical assistance missions to Dushanbe in both 2013 and 2014, thanks to the generous support of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice of the World Bank Group. The World Bank Group is also presently working in collaboration with the Government of Tajikistan to implement the e-Register component of the e-Apostille Program (e-APP).

Both the Permanent Bureau and the World Bank Group congratulate Tajikistan and are grateful for its ongoing co-operation. The HCCH is pleased to welcome Tajikistan to the Apostille Convention.

For the full press release of the World Bank Group, please see the following link: http://ifcextapps.ifc.org/ifcext/pressroom/ifcpressroom.nsf/0/1C4C4376BED02F9285257DF60029BD09?opendocument