In January 2021, Presidential Regulation No. 2 of 2021 concerning Ratification of the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for Foreign Public Document (“PR 2/2021”) was enacted by the Government. According to the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization for Foreign Public Document (“Apostille Treaty”), there are four types of documents mentioned, viz. court documents, administrative documents, notarial acts, and official certificates. Official certificates are regarded as those that are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures. Under the Apostille Treaty, the need for double certification by the originating country and the receiving country has been removed and now an apostille is sufficient to certify a document’s validity.
Prior to the PR 2/2021, any document issued/executed outside Indonesia were required to be notarized by the public notary of its origin country and later legalized by the consulate general of The Republic of Indonesia in the origin country in order to be enforced or to be presented as court evidence in Indonesia. The documents, among others, were a commercial contract, circular resolution in lieu of a general meeting of shareholders, power of attorney, etc.
After the enactment of the PR 2/2021, some law experts have the opinion that the legalization of foreign public documents is no longer needed. However, the PR 2/2021 does not define the meaning of a foreign public document and it does not provide further instruction on the implementation of the PR 2/2021.
Implementation of the PR 2/2021
Since the PR 2/2021 does not define clearly the meaning of foreign public documents, it is strongly advisable to consult with a competent legal advisor to get clear information on whether such documents are needed to be legalized or not by the consulate general of The Republic of Indonesia. For example, for documents that would be used for court purposes, we would advise our clients to legalize the documents. As for the documents for commercial purposes, legalization might be no longer needed.
How can Schinder help
The legalization process, in particular during the pandemic, might tend to be lengthy and require some cost. Thus, professional advice, on whether the document should be legalized or not, is needed concerning the implementation of PR 2/2021.
The lawyers ’team of Schinder has extensive experience to assist clients in drafting commercial contracts, preparing legal documents related to M&A, preparing documents for court hearing purposes as well as liaising with a public notary, government authorities, and court officers. Should you or your company need to have a legal opinion related to foreign document legalization, please do not hesitate to contact us or drop us an email at info@schinderlawfirm.com