Paraguay will be part of the Apostille Convention

By Stephanie Franco Ricord, Berkemeyer Attorneys & Counselors

Due to current globalization it is possible to appreciate a growth not only with regards to the commercial traffic between different countries but as well as transactions. This has led to the regulation of private legal relationships and disputes in the context of private international law, where we find ourselves before a situation or legal dispute with foreign elements in the sense that either some or all of the legal elements in the relationship (the subject, the object or the act itself) are not subjected to a single legal system.

The enactment of legislation N° 4987/2013 by the Paraguayan President on July 10, 2013, symbolizes an important breakthrough in overcoming the inconveniences, disadvantages and bureaucracy involved in the process of legalizing of foreign documents. The approved legislation makes the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 an internal Paraguayan law, abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, commonly known as the Apostille Convention.
Even though Paraguay through this legislation approves and adopts the Apostille Convention it is not immediately applicable. In order to become, applicable Paraguay must deposit the instrument of accession at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Secondly, the above mentioned Ministry of Foreign Affairs must notify the Contracting States of this enactment and designate a the Competent Authority for Paraguay.

Finally, from the official notification the Contracting States dispose of a 6 month objection period to object to the accession of a Country seeking to join the Convention. If an objection is raised, the Convention does not enter into force between the newly acceding State and the objecting State. Finally, the Convention will enter into force between Paraguay as an acceding State and each Contracting State that has not objected its accession on the 60th day after the 6 month objection period has ended or expired.

Currently the formalities in Paraguay behind the legalization represent an extremely bureaucratic process. This process implies a series of steps before diplomatic and consular officials in order to process a document, verify its origin and certify its legal effects in the country of where it was produced and the country in which it would be filed, used or enforced. Consequently, a document issued or executed at a foreign state must first be legalized by Paraguayan diplomatic and consular agents. Later, it is duly accredited to or located at the state of origin, where the document proceeds, to certify authenticity of the signature, the identity and/or the official capacity of the person signing or executing the document in case of a public document. Once the document reaches Paraguay it requires a second legalization before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the signature of the its diplomatic agents is certified.

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