Overview of Hong Kong Notarization and Certification

When handling investment, litigation, intellectual property and other businesses, the competent authorities of countries or regions around the world will require the right holders or interested parties (hereinafter referred to as "parties") to provide notarized and/or certified documents for some documents according to the laws of their own country or region. According to the basic principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has an independent judicial system. Hong Kong residents or registered companies need to go through the corresponding notarization and/or certification procedures in Hong Kong. What are the specific ways to do it? The following will give a brief introduction.

1. Notarization

The notarization system is a legal system that certifies legal acts or facts through the procedures of notarization regulations. It is a code of conduct that notarial agencies and notarial personnel must follow when handling notarization matters.

In continental legal countries or regions, notarization is an activity in which notarial agencies certify the authenticity and legality of civil legal acts, facts and documents with legal significance in accordance with legal procedures based on the application of natural persons, legal persons or other organizations.

Hong Kong follows the British notarial system, and the common law UK does not have a special profession of "notary public", so Hong Kong does not set up a notary office. Due to the implementation of case law, there is no unified notarial law. Therefore, unlike the notarial documents issued by notary offices in the Mainland, the notarial documents in Hong Kong are issued by notaries, and most notaries are Hong Kong lawyers. Notaries in Hong Kong are mainly divided into Hong Kong International Notaries and China-appointed Notaries.

A. International Notaries

Hong Kong International Notaries (Notary Public) are senior practicing lawyers appointed and supervised by the Hong Kong High Court in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Chapter 159 of the Laws of Hong Kong). They are responsible for certifying, confirming or certifying documents for the public and supervising oaths, affirmations or statements for use overseas (except for documents used in mainland China). The name of a Hong Kong International Notary must be registered on the Notary Public Register of the Hong Kong High Court. International notaries handle notarization procedures used in countries or regions around the world, and such notarization procedures are recognized by relevant countries or regions based on international treaties applicable to Hong Kong.

As Hong Kong is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, documents signed and sealed by Hong Kong international notaries are widely recognized internationally.

For patent and trademark related procedures used overseas (except for documents used in mainland China), if the parties need to provide documents proving the process of notarization of the authorized signatory's signature and seal on the document according to the laws of the country or region of use, then international notarization is required.

The parties can choose to appear in person or authorize a Hong Kong resident to appear in person before the international notary to notarize the signing and sealing process.

B. China-appointed notary public

Since the notarization of documents between the mainland and Hong Kong is not subject to international treaties, the Ministry of Justice, after consultation with relevant central authorities, has established a system of appointed notary publics since 1981, that is, after assessment by the Ministry of Justice, some Hong Kong lawyers are appointed as China-appointed notary publics (CAAOs) to be responsible for issuing relevant notarial documents, which are then sent back to the mainland for use after being reviewed and stamped by China Legal Services (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. established by the Ministry of Justice in Hong Kong. China-appointed notary publics are Hong Kong lawyers appointed by the Ministry of Justice of China as China-appointed notary publics to handle the notarization procedures for documents sent from Hong Kong to the mainland for use. They can also be understood as notaries recognized by the mainland.

According to the Notice of the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice on the Validity of Notarial Documents Involving Hong Kong (No. 026, 1996) issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Justice, this system will continue to be implemented after Hong Kong's return to the motherland. Therefore, when the people's courts and other mainland agencies handle cases involving Hong Kong, the parties must still submit Hong Kong documents with authenticity, legality and validity certification in accordance with this provision before they are protected by law.

Similarly, when applying for notarization by a Chinese notary public, the parties can choose to appear in person or authorize a Hong Kong resident to appear in person before the Chinese notary public to notarize the signing and stamping process.

2. Commercial certification

The effectiveness of notarization comes from the clear authorization of the law. Commercial certification is the certification of the authenticity of a certain business fact or commercial document or bill by the international chamber of commerce of a country or region at the invitation of industrial and commercial enterprises and individuals of the country or region. These certifications are in accordance with international practice or based on the trust of the parties in the chamber of commerce. They are neither judicial nor administrative. When necessary, the representative of the chamber of commerce who made the certification is obliged to testify to the certification made. Commercial certification has international validity. It conforms to international common practice and is recognized by the parties because of its reputation. In foreign-related commercial activities, because of the special reputation enjoyed by the chamber of commerce, its certification effect is often even stronger than the general notarization effect. Some documents can be accepted by some countries and regions after commercial certification.

The main business associations that can handle business certificates in Hong Kong are the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (hereinafter referred to as the Manufacturers' Association) and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC).

For patent and trademark related procedures for overseas use (except for documents used in mainland China), if the legal requirements of the country or region of use do not require the notary to notarize the signature and seal of the authorized signatory on the document, and only need to provide proof documents confirming the authenticity and validity of the facts, the parties can choose to apply for business certificates.

The parties only need to provide the original documents and choose to go to the Chamber of Commerce in person or entrust a Hong Kong agency to handle it. The procedures required for handling business certificates are simple, the evidence is quick, and the cost is not high.

3. High Court Endorsement

In accordance with the Hong Kong Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region can maintain and develop relations with countries, regions and international organizations in the world in the fields of economy, trade, finance, shipping, communications, tourism, culture, sports, etc., and sign and implement relevant agreements in the name of Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. At the same time, since Hong Kong belongs to Chinese territory and has no diplomatic department, according to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, documents certified by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region can be used for legal purposes in other jurisdictions that have signed the convention, that is, the Hong Kong High Court exercises the consular duties of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provides authentication and endorsement services for Hong Kong documents sent outside Hong Kong. The Hong Kong High Court Endorsement and Authentication Service is also called the High Court Endorsement.

The Hong Kong High Court only authenticates certain public documents, and such documents must be issued by public officials (for example: business registration certificates and company registration certificates issued by public officials recognized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government), or documents signed by Hong Kong legal notaries or commissioners of oaths (for example: notarized authorization letters, certified copies or affidavits sworn by legal notaries). The High Court only confirms the signature of the previous notarial agency or notary public, and does not authenticate the content of the document to be authenticated.

Generally speaking, documents that need to be apostille in the High Court are mainly used in countries or regions that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention or accept the Hague Apostille Convention for the apostille of documents.

The parties can choose to go to the High Court Registry Apostille Service Group in person or entrust an agency to bring the documents to be apostille to handle it.

4. Consular Authentication

Consular authentication refers to the activity of consular authentication agencies to confirm the authenticity of the last seal and signature on domestic foreign-related notarial certificates, other certification documents or foreign related documents based on the application of natural persons, legal persons or other organizations. The purpose of consular authentication is to enable documents issued by one country to be recognized in other countries, and the legal effect outside the territory will not be affected by doubts about the authenticity of the seals and signatures on the documents. Consular authentication does not exercise the certification function for matters certified by notarial certificates or other certification documents, and is not responsible for the authenticity and legality of the contents of the documents themselves. The content of the documents is the responsibility of the document issuing institution.

For countries or regions that are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention, if the country or region requires some documents to be authenticated by consular authentication, the parties must apply for the Hong Kong High Court to authenticate the documents, and then send the documents to the country's consulate in Hong Kong for consular authentication; if the country or region does not have a consulate in Hong Kong, the documents after the Hong Kong High Court's authentication must be sent to the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong for authentication, and then sent to the country's embassy in Beijing for authentication.

In addition to the above-mentioned consular authentication of documents authenticated by the High Court, the embassies and consulates of some countries can also directly handle consular authentication for commercial certificates. There are usually two main ways to handle consular authentication of commercial certificates. One is to entrust the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce to directly contact the embassy or consulate of the country in Hong Kong for consular authentication; the other is that according to the "Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Mainland and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce", trade documents and documents issued by natural persons, legal persons and other economic organizations in Hong Kong can be sent to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in the Mainland (hereinafter referred to as "CCPIT") after being authenticated by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. The full English name is: China Council For The Promotion Of International Trade (hereinafter referred to as "CCPIT"). ) for authentication, then sent to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for authentication, and finally sent to the foreign embassy in China for consular authentication.

The specific requirements for the documents required for consular authentication are stipulated by the embassy or consulate of the target country or region, and the requirements of each embassy or consulate are usually far apart.

Due to the strong diversity of the requirements for consular authentication documents and the complexity of the procedures, it is recommended that the parties entrust a professional agency to handle consular authentication.

5. Summary

Although the channels for notarization and authentication in Hong Kong are diverse and convenient, not every channel is feasible or meets the requirements of the target country or region. The legal document requirements of the target country or region are the primary basis for choosing the handling method.

Due to different policies in different countries or regions and different requirements of embassies and consulates, the document requirements, handling time, fees, methods and applicability of each method cannot be generalized. It is recommended that the parties choose the correct method to handle after understanding the specific requirements of the country or region where the documents are used, so as to avoid wasting costs and time.