AALCO and the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) jointly hosted an online seminar on “the HCCH & the Apostille Convention: Exploring the Benefits for AALCO Members” on Thursday, 10 March 2022. The seminar, intended to introduce the Apostille Convention, focused on enabling the AALCO Member States to understand and appreciate the benefits of acceding to the Convention. It was attended by more than 70 participants many of whom were from AALCO Member States.
In his opening remarks, H.E. Dr Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol, the Secretary-General of AALCO, highlighted the cooperation between the two organizations formalized through a MoU in 2016 and the significance of the HCCH and the Apostille Convention in an ever-changing global environment. Dr Christophe Bernasconi, the Secretary-General of the HCCH, in his opening statement, emphasized that the online event was a practical expression of the cooperation between the two organizations. Further, he outlined the structure of the event and its objective. He pointed out that the approach of the Convention was striking in its simplicity and practicality, highly effective in serving the needs of multiple jurisdictions across the globe.
The substantive part of the seminar began with an introduction to the HCCH by Dr Yun Zhao, the Representative of the HCCH Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. He gave an overview of the HCCH, its history, the composition of its membership, legislative mandate, key activities and its achievements. Ms Nicole Sims, Legal Officer, the HCCH, introduced the Apostille Convention and explained its contents, applications and operation. She also described the steps to be taken to become a contracting party to the Convention. Mr Brody Warren, Senior Legal Officer, the HCCH, gave a detailed presentation on some specific aspects of the Convention— identification and operation of “competent authorities”, electronic Apostille Programme (e-APP), verification of public documents, recording in the register, etc.
In his closing remarks, the Secretary-General of AALCO expressed his gratitude to the HCCH and its leadership for co-organizing this seminar. He also thanked the presenters and the participants and conveyed AALCO’s interest in furthering cooperation with the HCCH.
