Kiri

Dear Sir / Madam,

The Permanent Bureau (PB) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has the honour to contact your Competent Authority regarding the operation of the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) and the electronic Apostille Programme (e-APP).

In advance of the upcoming 13^th International Forum on the e-APP, which will take place on 21 and 22 October 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan, the PB is collecting key data in relation to the implementation and practical operation of the e-APP in Contracting Parties to the Apostille Convention. All the data collected will be used by the PB and will inform the discussions at the Astana Forum.

The PB is reaching out to States like yours which have implemented one or both components of the e-APP; issue e-Apostilles and / or operate an e-Register.

Accordingly, the PB would appreciate it if you could kindly provide it with some basic data on the operation of the e-APP in your State by, where appropriate, providing answers to three questions.

The questions are set out below and are also available at the following links:

English:    http://assets.hcch.net/docs/a40791cb-291d-4e2a-98ad-8ceac31b98e3.pdf
French:    http://assets.hcch.net/docs/ab480ea0-c149-49db-a695-a057963f076b.pdf

Spanish:  http://assets.hcch.net/docs/8cabdcbb-673c-42ea-9fbb-78df3f4609fe.pdf

1.           How many e-Apostilles were issued by the Competent Authority[ies] of your State in the period between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023?

(If your State implemented the e-Apostille on a date after 1 January 2022, please provide the first date that e-Apostilles were issued and provide data from that first issuance date to 31 December 2023.)

2.           How frequently was your State’s e-Register consulted for verification of Apostilles in the period between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2023?

(If your State has different e-Registers, please provide data for each e-Register. If your State’s data differentiates between paper / e-Apostille verification, this information may be provided. However, for the purposes of this exercise, the PB is interested in any e-Register verification (including for paper Apostilles issued).)

3.          Do you have any comments or observations you wish to share with the PB in relation to the operation of the e-APP in your State?

The PB would appreciate it if this data could be provided by e-mail to secretariat@hcch.net by Wednesday 9 October 2024, 5.00 pm. (CEST).

The PB sincerely thanks you in advance for your cooperation.

We also take this opportunity to note that registrations for the e-APP Forum are now open and officials from your State can register here:

English Registration Form:    Registration for the 13th International Forum on the e-APP (hcch.net)

French Registration Form:     Registration for the 13th International Forum on the e-APP (hcch.net)

Spanish Registration Form:   Registration for the 13th International Forum on the e-APP (hcch.net)

Sincerely,