The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention) facilitates the use of public documents abroad. The purpose of the Convention is to abolish the traditional requirement of legalisation, replacing the often long and costly legalisation process with the issuance of a single Apostille certificate by a Competent Authority in the place where the document originates. The electronic Apostille Programme (e-APP) was launched in 2006 to support the electronic issuance and verification of Apostilles around the world. 

The Convention has over 120 Contracting Parties, and has become one of the most widely applied multilateral treaties in the area of legal cooperation, with several million Apostilles issued each year.

Muster eines Apostillenzertifikats:

Erläuternde Dokumente:

Spezialkommissionen:

Experts’ and Working Groups

Fragebögen und Antworten:

e-APP (Program elektronische Apostille)

Bibliographie