The end of legalization
Actually, if your business either has non-Polish investors or works with foreign companies, I have some good news. Poland is in the process of ratifying the 1961 Hague Convention.
At this point you may be wondering why I am so excited about some convention dating from 1961. Having waited and waited for many a document because Poland was not a "Contracting State" to the Convention, I am giving three big cheers for this development.
A Brief Explanation
The 1961 Hague Convention is a nifty little treaty that abolishes the requirement to legalize foreign documents. Legalization is the process by which the consulate of a country in which a foreign document is to be used confirms "the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears." Legalization does not concern the substance of a document, it merely confirms proper issuance. To be very cynical, the legalization process means that your document gets decorated with a few more stamps, costs more and takes longer to obtain.
Fortunately, most documents issued abroad do not require legalization for use in Poland. Your simple power of attorney from a foreign shareholder probably does not need legalization. However, any document that requires notarization in Poland would require legalization if issued or signed outside of Poland. For example, a power of attorney to execute a notarial deed (such as establishing a new company or amending the articles of association of a company) in Poland would need to be legalized.
Status of Poland's ratification
Poland is close to finalizing the ratification process, but the date on which it will enter into force has not yet been announced. In what has to be one of the shortest laws ever produced, the Act of July 22, 2004, the Polish parliament in two terse sentences allowed President Kwaśniewski to ratify the Hague Convention. The Act came into effect in mid-September, and on October 15, President Kwaśniewski signed the ratification documentation. As the last step, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must issue an ordinance specifying when the ratification will take effect.
Once Poland completes the ratification process, obtaining official or notarized documents from foreign persons and companies will be much easier. You will only need to arrange for an annotation from the designated authority in the foreign country. An annotation certifies the same things as legalization, but it is done by an official in the country in which the document is issued. As an example, let's say that my client needs a notarized power of attorney from a U.S. shareholder. The signature on that power of attorney will need to be witnessed by a notary public. Depending on local procedures, you may need to verify the notary's registration. The last step, however, will be obtaining an annotation from the appropriate Secretary of State. No more trips to the Polish consulate.
Relevant countries
Naturally, this short-cut only pertains to countries that have ratified the 1961 Hague Convention. At last count, more than 60 countries had already ratified the Convention.
The list of contracting states to the Convention contains most of the usual suspects, including the United States, Russia, Japan and most of the European Union member states. A number of countries that could make for a good challenge to your geography knowledge are also members, such as the Comoros Islands, Tuvalu, Djibouti and Kiribati. However, as a moral to never assume even amongst EU members, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Slovakia are not contracting parties to the Hague Convention.
Judith Gliniecki is a pratner with Rymar i Wspolnicy.
At this point you may be wondering why I am so excited about some convention dating from 1961. Having waited and waited for many a document because Poland was not a "Contracting State" to the Convention, I am giving three big cheers for this development.
A Brief Explanation
The 1961 Hague Convention is a nifty little treaty that abolishes the requirement to legalize foreign documents. Legalization is the process by which the consulate of a country in which a foreign document is to be used confirms "the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears." Legalization does not concern the substance of a document, it merely confirms proper issuance. To be very cynical, the legalization process means that your document gets decorated with a few more stamps, costs more and takes longer to obtain.
Fortunately, most documents issued abroad do not require legalization for use in Poland. Your simple power of attorney from a foreign shareholder probably does not need legalization. However, any document that requires notarization in Poland would require legalization if issued or signed outside of Poland. For example, a power of attorney to execute a notarial deed (such as establishing a new company or amending the articles of association of a company) in Poland would need to be legalized.
Status of Poland's ratification
Poland is close to finalizing the ratification process, but the date on which it will enter into force has not yet been announced. In what has to be one of the shortest laws ever produced, the Act of July 22, 2004, the Polish parliament in two terse sentences allowed President Kwaśniewski to ratify the Hague Convention. The Act came into effect in mid-September, and on October 15, President Kwaśniewski signed the ratification documentation. As the last step, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must issue an ordinance specifying when the ratification will take effect.
Once Poland completes the ratification process, obtaining official or notarized documents from foreign persons and companies will be much easier. You will only need to arrange for an annotation from the designated authority in the foreign country. An annotation certifies the same things as legalization, but it is done by an official in the country in which the document is issued. As an example, let's say that my client needs a notarized power of attorney from a U.S. shareholder. The signature on that power of attorney will need to be witnessed by a notary public. Depending on local procedures, you may need to verify the notary's registration. The last step, however, will be obtaining an annotation from the appropriate Secretary of State. No more trips to the Polish consulate.
Relevant countries
Naturally, this short-cut only pertains to countries that have ratified the 1961 Hague Convention. At last count, more than 60 countries had already ratified the Convention.
The list of contracting states to the Convention contains most of the usual suspects, including the United States, Russia, Japan and most of the European Union member states. A number of countries that could make for a good challenge to your geography knowledge are also members, such as the Comoros Islands, Tuvalu, Djibouti and Kiribati. However, as a moral to never assume even amongst EU members, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Slovakia are not contracting parties to the Hague Convention.
Judith Gliniecki is a pratner with Rymar i Wspolnicy.
