Apostille Convention reduces need for consular legalization

The Hague Convention on the Suppression of the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) came into effect for Ecuador on April 2 2005. This means that notarized or certified documents that are required for trademark matters for or from Ecuador no longer need consular legalization.

According to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry Press Bulletin 136 of March 24 2005, the following public documents no longer require consular legalization provided that they have an apostille:

• notarized documents;
  
  
• administrative documents;
  
  
• certified documents;
  
  
• official documents; and
  
  
• all documents from authorities connected to, among others, courts and tribunals of state, and judicial agents.

Approximately 90 countries are now members of the Apostille Convention, originally signed in October 1961.

Bruce Horowitz, Paz & Horowitz, Quito