REPUBLIC of TURKEY MINISTRY of INTERIOR DEPARTMENT of INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

1. REPUBLIC of TURKEY MINISTRY of INTERIOR DEPARTMENT of INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES e-Interior PROJECT GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATEAPOSTILLE MODULE PRESENTATION

2. What is Apostille-Ratification Certificate? • Apostille is a document legalizationsystem that ensures the documents that certified in one signatory country to be used in another country for legal purposes. • IntheArticle 1 of thereferredConvention, it is provisionedthatthe Apostille shall be appliedto ‘public documents which have been executed in the territory of one Contracting State and which have to be produced in the territory of another Contracting State’. • The rules of Apostille was set in the Hague Convention dated October 5th, 1961. Apostille rules are only for the member or signatory countries of Hague Conference. • Turkey signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 (abolishment the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents)in 8 May 1962 and ratified it with the Law No. 3028 dated 20 June 1984 and this Law being published in the Official Gazette no.18517 dated 16.09.1985, entered into force on 29.09.1985. • Itwasaimedthatcitizens of statespartytoreferredConventionshall be abletousetherelateddocumentsissuedbytheirowncountry in anotherstatepartytoConvention, thusreducingtheburden in theprocedures, providingconvenience and rapidity. • Withintheframework of a privateagreementbetweenGermany, Austria and Switzerland, thedocuments of thesecountriesaredirectly and reciprocally legal (withouttheneed of apostille).

3. Documents regarded as Official Certificate and that can have Apostille Certification • AccordingtotheArticle 1 in Convention, the following are deemed to be public documents: • Documentsemanating from an authority or an official connected with the courts or tribunals of the State, including those emanating from a public prosecutor, a clerk of a court or a proces-sserver; • administrative documents; • notarial acts; • official certificates which 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.

4. Items Contained in an Apostille Ratification Certificate In accordance with the Article 4 of Convention; the main title “Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 Octobre 1961)” in Apostille Certificate shall be in the French language. An Apostille document should contain the informational items below: Apostille Certificate

5. 81 PROVINCE • 892 DISTRICT Turkish AuthoritiesCompetentto Issuethe Apostille Certificate • CompetentAuthoritieswhich can givetheratificationcertificateforadministrativedocumentsto be usedabroad in accordancewiththeprotocoldated 08.01.1990 thatMinistry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of ForeignAffairssignedarelistedbelow; • InGovernorates ; • Governor • DeputyGovernor on behalf of theGovernor • Legal Affairs Branch Director • InDistrictGovernorates; • DistrictGovernor • Head of District Registrar Section /Chiefs (Population >50000) • In Court houses; • Presidencies of JudiciaryJusticeCommission

6. Documents Legalized by Apostille/Normal Ratification Certificate • DocumentscertifiedbyAdministrativeAuthorities; • BirthCertificate, • Name EquivalencyCertificate, • StudentCertificate, • NotarialActs, • Proxy Statement, • Certificate of Consent, • DocumentscertifiedbyJudicialAuthorities; • JudicialRegistryCertificate, • Certificate of Appeal, • Court Order, • DivorceDecree, • AdministrativeDocumentsDealingDirectlywithCommercialor CustomsOperations; • Certificate of Origin, • ForeignReceipt (Invoice) 6

7. OPERATION of E-INTERIOR PROJECT GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATE APOSTILLE MODULE

8. Interfaces of Governorate District Governorate Apostille Module

9. Operation of GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille Module • Theratification is provided in electronical environmentwiththeratificationcertificate (Apostille/Normal RatificationCertificate) sothatcitizenshaving a legallyaccepteddocument in Turkeyshall be abletouse it in otherstatepartytoconventionbymeans of applyingtoGovernoratesorDistrictGovernorates. • Apostille/Normal Ratification Certificate is providedfrom the system with the comparison of institution seals and signatory circularof authorized personsregisteredby Governorates or District Governorates in e-Interior Project. • Registration of authorizedpersons’ authorization start and expirationdatestothesystem is ensured. • Registrationscontinueto be kept in thesystemeveniftheauthorization of theperson is expired, sothey can be easilyaccessedwhenneeded. 9

10. Operation of GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille Module • In 81 provinces and 892 districts there can be found ratification opportunity regardless of the issuance location of document. • e.g. A diploma received from METU in Ankara can be ratified in İzmir.

11. E-INTERIOR PROJECT GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATE APOSTILLE MODULE INSTITUTION SEAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

12. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Module Authorized Institutions • Institutional seal and authorized person signatorycircular are registered by Governorate/District Governorate Directorate of Legal Affairs. • UNIVERSITY • STUDENT SELECTION AND PLACEMENT CENTER (ÖSYM) • NOTARY • THE COUNCIL OF HIGHER EDUCATION (YÖK) • HEALTH GROUP PRESIDENCIES • PROFESSIONAL GROUPS • HEALTH INSTITUTION • CONSULATE • NON-MINISTERIAL UNITS / PROVINCE-DISTRICT DIRECTORATE • OTHER INSTITUTIONS and ORGANIZATIONS • MINISTERIAL UNITS / PROVINCE-DISTRICT DIRECTORATE • HEADMAN OFFICES • SCHOOL

13. GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille ModuleInstitutionSealRegistrationProcedure • Red labelled areas are compulsory. • Institution Type, Institution Name, Province/District areas are filled. • Institution seal that was saved as image format after being scanned are registered into the system from Seals area. 13

14. GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille Module InstitutionList • Forexample; allregistereduniversities in İstanbul arelistedwiththeselection of ‘University’in ‘InstitutionType’ and “İstanbul” in ”Province“ area. • Ifnothing is selected in Provincearea, alluniversities in Turkeyarelisted. 14

15. GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille Module InstitutionSeals • Samples of scanned institution seal of the person ratifying the document for Apostille registration are as follows:

16. GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATE APOSTILLE MODULE REGISTRATION of AUTHORIZED PERSONS

17. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Module Registration of Authorized Persons • Institution is selected in order to register an authorized person. • Thenthe registration is completed upon filling the required areas. 17

18. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Module Registration of Authorized Persons • IftheIdentity Number is known, name and surnameinformation can be obtainedfrom Identity SharingSystem (ISS) and MERNIS. • Signatorycircularthatwasscanned and saved as image in thesystem is registered on thearea of “SignatoryCircular”. • It is importantthatAuthorizationStart and AuthorizationExpirationDate is updatedregularlyforratificationprocessesto be conductedconveniently. 18

19. GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille ModuleAuthorizedPersonsList • If the institution criteria isn’t selected, all authorized person defined in the system is listed on the screen. 19

20. Authorized Persons SignatoryCircular Samples • Samples of scanned signatorycircularof the person ratifying the document for Apostille registration are as follows:

21. E-INTERIOR PROJECT GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATE APOSTILLE CERTIFICATE REGISTRATION PROCEDURES WITH ORIGINAL SIGNATURE

22. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Certificate Registration Process • If the country selected in “The Country to be used in” is among the contracting states; “Apostille Certification” is affixed. • As soon as authorized person is selected in registration page, registered signatory circularand relevant institution seal of this person can be viewed. • Turkish citizens can be registered with “Identity Number” and the foreigners with the “Name, Surname” information.

23. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Certificate Registration Process Delete Registry Show Certificate Update Registry

24. Sample of Apostille Ratification Certificate Sample of Apostille Ratification Certificate that shall be signed with original signature

25. E-INTERIOR PROJECT GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATE APOSTILLE CERTIFICATE PROCEDURES OF E-SIGNATURE REGISTRATION

26. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Certificate Registration Process • Aftertheregistration of ratification;non-authorizeduserssendthecertificatetotheirsupervisorsforapprovalwithbuttonaftertheyhavecompletedtheregistrationprocess. Delete Registry Show Apostille Send for Approval Update Registry

27. Governorate District Governorate Apostille Certificate Registration Process • Aftertheregistration; Authorizeduserscan signthecertificatewithbuttonaftertheyhavecompletedthe apostille registrationprocess. Delete Registry Show Apostille Update Registry Sign Apostille

28. E-SignatureUse in GovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille Procedures • E-signature has beenadoptedto e-Interior Project GovernorateDistrictGovernorate apostille module and in theeventthatvalidityissue is resolvedbycontractingStates, Apostille certificateratifiedwith e-signaturewill be put intoeffect. • Becausethe e-signatureprocess has not beenfullyaccepted in theinternational platform yet, apostille certificatessignedwith e-signaturecontinueto be signedalsooriginally.

29. Sample of Apostille Ratification Certificate Sample of Apostille Ratification Certificate signed with e-Signature

30. E-INTERIOR PROJECT GOVERNORATE DISTRICT GOVERNORATE APOSTILLE MODULE NORMAL LEGALIZATION REGISTRATION PROCEDURE

31. Governorate District Governorate Normal RatificationRegistry Procedure • In accordance with the Article 1 of the Convention dated 5 October 1961; Apostille shall not be applied, • to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents; • to documents stated as to be used in a non-Contracting State, • to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations. • Normal ratificationprocedure is applied to these documents.

32. Sample of Normal Ratification Certificate Sample of Normal Ratification Certificate legalized with signature

33. APOSTILLE/NORMAL RATIFICATION REPORTINGS ON E-INTERIOR PROJECT APOSTILLE MODULE

34. Annual Statistical Report on Monthly Basis 2011 Report for Normal Ratification Processes on Monthly Basis 2011 Report for Apostille Ratification Processes on Monthly Basis 34

35. Annual Statistical Report on Provincial Basis Province/District Process Counts Report 35

36. Annual Statistical Report on Country Basis Numbers of Apostille ratificationprocess in e-Interior Project aregraduallyincreasingeveryyear. Accordingtothis; while it was27,878 in thefirstfivemonthsperiod of 2010 and 54,924 in thefirstfivemonthsperiod of 2011, it reached67.784 in thefirstfivemonthsperiod of 2012. 2011 2010 2012 36

37. Apostille Process Distribution on the Country BasisAccordingtoYears • From 2010 to 2011, an increase in the rate of 60% in Apostille ProcessCountswasobserved. • Fromthefirst 5 months of 2010 tothefirst 5 months of 2011, an increase in the rate of 97% ; • Fromthefirst 5 months of 2011 tothefirst 5 months of 2012, an increase in the rate of 23% wasobserved. 37

38. E-INTERIOR PROJECT APOSTILLE MODULE PERSON LIST QUERY/REPORTING by GENERAL DIRECTORATE of PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION

39. Functions of General Directorate of Provincial Administration Data Collection Branch Office Apostille Module • General Directorate of Provincial Administration can compareand controlthesignatorycirculars of Governor, DeputyGovernor, Director of Legal Affairsin Governoratesthatarecompetenttogivethecertificateforthequalifieddocumentsto be usedabroad and; • Signatorycircular of DistrictGovernor, Head of RegistrarSection and Chief of Legal Affairsin DistrictGovernorates;theirauthorization start and authorizationexpirationdates. 39

40. Functions of General Directorate of Provincial Administration Data Collection Branch Office Apostille Module • Apostille/Normal certificatesregistered in thesystemthroughoutTurkey can be reportedaccordingtothebasis of dateorprovinceorallregisteredcertificatesalloverthecountrywithoutanycriteriaby General Directorate of ProvincialAdministrations. 40

41. E-INTERIOR PROJECT APOSTILLE MODULE PUT INTO SERVICE FOR MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

42. E-Interior Apostille Module Put Into Serviceof Ministryof ForeignAffairs • Signature and seallegalization of Turkishauthorities and foreignmissionsresident in TurkeyareissuedbyMinistry of ForeignAffairssothatthey can be usedlegally in Turkeyorothercountries. • Relatedsignatorycircular and sealsamplesusedto be sent in paper format. • Ministry of ForeignAffairshas beenprovidedwiththecurrentversion of signatorycircular and sealsamplesin electronicenvironmentwhichwere in theGovernorateDistrictGovernorate Apostille Modulethroughthedeveloped Web Service. • Inthisway, signatorycircular and sealsamples can be displayedbyMinistry of ForeignAffairs in electronical environment and be compared.

43. Advantages of Apostille Module • It is ensured in electronic environment that a document authorized in Turkey with Apostille or Normal Certification can be used in another country legally. • The procedures of the citizens who wish to have apostille procedure can be concluded in a fast and secure way since the authorized person signatory circularis kept in the system. • Source and time saving can be ensured and security is increasedwith the e-signature use in the ratification of “Apostille Certification”. • Bureaucracy between the states can be reduced. • Electronic reporting procedures and overall queries can be performed. • Abolishment of conventional paper processes and the costs derived from them can be provided. • Transparency in the processes can be assured. 43

44. Developments and Suggestions in Apostille Module • Afterthepresentation in Ankara’ in March, 2012; e-signatureeffectivenes has beenprovidedto Apostille or Normal Rafiticationprocedures. • Thecurrentstructure has beenbroughtinto service of Ministry of ForeignAffairsthusprovidingsupportforextension of services. • Similarservices as of Ministry of ForeignAffairs can be establishedwithotherpartners. • Intheconcept of Citizen-Oriented Services, duringtheprocessbeginningfromtheapplication, access can be providedthroughboth e-Government Gateway and thewebpage of Ministry of Interior in ordertoensurethevalidation and delivery of thecitizen’sdocument. • Mobile signature (m-signature) integrationwiththesystem has reachedthe final stage. • Wewouldliketoexpressthatweareopentoallkinds of cooperationwithpartnersformakingtheprocess a role model and that software developmentstudiesarestillbeingconducted in thescope of Ministry. • Studiesforinternationalintegration of mentionedstructure can be completed as soon as possible. 44

45. İlhan URAN Head of Department of Information Technologies MINISTRY of INTERIOR