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Authentication of documents executed outside South Africa for use within South Africa
There may be many times when companies, private individuals are needing foreign documents to be authenticated as per the requirements of Rule 63 of the High Court Rules (as amended). An example of this where this could be necessary is that during a conveyancing transaction one or more of the parties are living abroad and the documents need to authenticated correctly.
Rule 63 of the High Court Rules:-
- In this rule, unless inconsistent with the context:-
“document” means any deed, contract, power of attorney, affidavit or other writing, but does not include an affidavit or solemn or attested declaration purporting to have been made before an officer prescribed by section eight of the Justices of the Peace and Commissioners of Oaths Act, 1963 (Act No. 16 of 1963);
“authentication” means, when applied to a document, the verification of any signature thereon.
- Any document executed in any place outside the Republic shall be deemed to be sufficiently authenticated for the purpose of use in the Republic if it be duly authenticated at such foreign place by the signature and seal of office:-
- of the head of a South African diplomatic or consular mission or a person in the administrative or professional division of the public service serving at a South African diplomatic, consular or trade office abroad; or
- of a consul-general, consul, vice-consul or consular agent of the United Kingdom or any person acting in any of the aforementioned capacities or a pro-consul of the United Kingdom; or
- of any Government authority of such foreign place charged with the authentication of documents under the law of the foreign country; or
- of any person in such foreign place who shall be shown by a certificate of any person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) or of any diplomatic or consular officer of such foreign country in the Republic to be duly authorised to authenticate such document under the law of that foreign country; or
- of a notary public in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or in Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana of Swaziland; or
- of a commissioned officer of the South African Defence Force as defined in section one of the Defence Act, 1957 (Act No. 44 of 1957), in the case of a document executed by any person on active service.
- If any person authenticating a document in terms of sub-rule (2) has not seal of office, he shall certify thereon under his signature to that effect.
- Notwithstanding anything in this rule contained, any court of law or public office may accept as sufficiently authenticated any document which is shown to the satisfaction of such court or the office, to have been actually signed by the person purporting to have signed such document.
- No power of attorney, executed in Lesotho, Botswana or Swaziland, and intended as an authority to any person to take, defend or intervene in any legal proceedings in a magistrate’s court within the Republic shall require authentication: Provided that any such power of attorney shall appear to have been duly signed and the signature to have been attested by two competent witnesses.
The documents can be authenticated via the Apostille process out of the country where the documents are to be signed as long as that country is part of the Hague Convention date 5 October 1961, namely the Convention Abolishing the Requirements of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Where the country is not then the so called long procedure needs to adopted or by an official at the South African Consulate or Embassy in that country.
For more information please click here.
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