Pakistan is taking steps to become a member of the Apostille Convention. In this respect and at the request of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the instrument of accession to the Apostille Convention, drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), has been approved by President Arif Alvi, Head of Prime Minister's Strategic Reforms, Salman Sufi, told Dawn.com on Thursday. Now all that is needed is a formal approval from Hague for the process to kick in.

Sufi says changes to the attestation process are likely to take effect in about six months time and that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is officiating notaries across Pakistan for enabling authentication, legalisation and attestation of documents with respect to this mechanism.

Once Pakistan formally becomes a member of the Apostille Convention, public documents originating from the country that are attested in line with the requirements of this treaty will be accepted in the 122 countries that are its current members.

Same would be the case for public documents originating in these 122 countries. If duly attested as per the Apostille Convention guidelines by the country of origin, these documents will be accepted in Pakistan without any further authentication requirements.

The existing process of attestation and legalisation of public documents is confusing, time-consuming, cumbersome and costly for most people and becoming a formal member of the Apostille Convention will facilitate millions of overseas Pakistanis.

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 lengthy and costly legalisation process with the issuance of a single Apostille certificate by a Competent Authority in the place where the document originated.

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.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.