Legal provisions of COM(2013)228 - Promoting the free movement of citizens and businesses by simplifying the acceptance of certain public documents in the EU

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dossier COM(2013)228 - Promoting the free movement of citizens and businesses by simplifying the acceptance of certain public documents in the EU.
document COM(2013)228 EN
date July  6, 2016

Contents

CHAPTER I - SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS


Article 1

Subject matter

1. This Regulation provides, in relation to certain public documents which are issued by the authorities of a Member State and which have to be presented to the authorities of another Member State, for a system of:

(a)exemption from legalisation or similar formality; and

(b)simplification of other formalities.

Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, this Regulation shall not prevent a person from using other systems applicable in a Member State concerning legalisation or similar formality.

2. This Regulation also establishes multilingual standard forms to be used as a translation aid attached to public documents concerning birth, a person being alive, death, marriage (including capacity to marry and marital status), registered partnership (including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status), domicile and/or residence and absence of a criminal record.

Article 2

Scope

1. This Regulation applies to public documents issued by the authorities of a Member State in accordance with its national law which have to be presented to the authorities of another Member State and the primary purpose of which is to establish one or more of the following facts:

(a)birth;

(b)a person being alive;

(c)death;

(d)name;

(e)marriage, including capacity to marry and marital status;

(f)divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment;

(g)registered partnership, including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status;

(h)dissolution of a registered partnership, legal separation or annulment of a registered partnership;

(i)parenthood;

(j)adoption;

(k)domicile and/or residence;

(l)nationality;

(m)absence of a criminal record, provided that public documents concerning this fact are issued for a citizen of the Union by the authorities of that citizen's Member State of nationality.

2. This Regulation also applies to public documents the presentation of which may be required of citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals when those citizens wish to vote or stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament or in municipal elections in their Member State of residence, under the conditions laid down in Directive 93/109/EC and Council Directive 94/80/EC (11) respectively.

3. This Regulation does not apply to:

(a)public documents issued by the authorities of a third country; or

(b)certified copies of documents referred to in point (a) made by the authorities of a Member State.

4. This Regulation does not apply to the recognition in a Member State of legal effects relating to the content of public documents issued by the authorities of another Member State.

Article 3

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(1)‘public documents’ means:

(a)documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with the courts or tribunals of a Member State, including those emanating from a public prosecutor, a clerk of a court or a judicial officer (‘huissier de justice’);

(b)administrative documents;

(c)notarial acts;

(d)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;

(e)documents drawn up by the diplomatic or consular agents of a Member State acting in the territory of any State in their official capacity, where such documents have to be presented in the territory of another Member State or to the diplomatic or consular agents of another Member State acting in the territory of a third State;

(2)‘authority’ means a public authority of a Member State, or an entity acting in an official capacity and authorised under national law to issue or receive a public document covered by this Regulation or a certified copy thereof;

(3)‘legalisation’ means the formality for certifying the authenticity of a public office holder's signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears;

(4)‘similar formality’ means the addition of the certificate provided for by the Apostille Convention;

(5)‘other formalities’ means the requirement to provide certified copies and translations of public documents;

(6)‘central authority’ means the authority or authorities which has or have been designated in accordance with Article 15 by the Member States to fulfil functions relating to the application of this Regulation;

(7)‘certified copy’ means a copy of an original public document which is signed and attested to be an accurate and complete reproduction of that original public document by an authority, empowered to do so under national law and of the same Member State that originally issued the public document.

CHAPTER II - EXEMPTION FROM LEGALISATION AND SIMILAR FORMALITY, AND SIMPLIFICATION OF OTHER FORMALITIES RELATING TO CERTIFIED COPIES


Article 4

Exemption from legalisation and similar formality

Public documents covered by this Regulation and their certified copies shall be exempt from all forms of legalisation and similar formality.

Article 5

Simplification of other formalities relating to certified copies

1. Where a Member State requires the presentation of the original of a public document issued by the authorities of another Member State, the authorities of the Member State where the public document is presented shall not also require the presentation of a certified copy thereof.

2. Where a Member State permits the presentation of a certified copy of a public document, the authorities of that Member State shall accept a certified copy made in another Member State.

CHAPTER III - SIMPLIFICATION OF OTHER FORMALITIES RELATING TO TRANSLATIONS AND MULTILINGUAL STANDARD FORMS


Article 6

Simplification of other formalities relating to translations

1. A translation shall not be required where:

(a)the public document is in the official language of the Member State where the document is presented or, if that Member State has several official languages, in the official language or one of the official languages of the place where the document is presented or in any other language that that Member State has expressly accepted; or

(b)a public document concerning birth, a person being alive, death, marriage (including capacity to marry and marital status), registered partnership (including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status), domicile and/or residence, or absence of a criminal record, is accompanied, in accordance with the conditions set out in this Regulation, by a multilingual standard form, provided that the authority to which the public document is presented considers that the information included in the multilingual standard form is sufficient for processing the public document.

2. A certified translation carried out by a person qualified to do so under the law of a Member State shall be accepted in all Member States.

Article 7

Multilingual standard forms

1. Public documents concerning birth, a person being alive, death, marriage (including capacity to marry and marital status), registered partnership (including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status), domicile and/or residence and absence of a criminal record, communicated by the Member States in accordance with point (c) of Article 24(1), shall, upon request by the person entitled to receive the public document, be accompanied by a multilingual standard form established in accordance with this Regulation.

2. The multilingual standard forms referred to in paragraph 1 shall be issued by an authority and shall bear their date of issue as well as the signature and, where applicable, the seal or stamp of the issuing authority.

Article 8

Use of multilingual standard forms

1. The multilingual standard forms referred to in Article 7(1) shall be attached to the public documents referred to in that paragraph, shall be used as a translation aid and shall have no autonomous legal value.

2. The multilingual standard forms shall not constitute any of the following:

(a)extracts from civil status records;

(b)verbatim copies of civil status records;

(c)multilingual extracts from civil status records;

(d)multilingual and coded extracts from civil status records; or

(e)multilingual and coded civil status certificates.

3. The multilingual standard forms may only be used in a Member State other than the Member State where they were issued.

Article 9

Content of multilingual standard forms

1. Each multilingual standard form shall contain a standard part, consisting of the following elements:

(a)the title of the multilingual standard form;

(b)the legal basis for the issuance of the multilingual standard form;

(c)a reference to the Member State where the multilingual standard form is issued;

(d)an ‘Important Notice’ box;

(e)a ‘Note for the issuing authority’ box;

(f)a number of standard entry headings and their code numbers; and

(g)a ‘Signature box’.

2. The standard parts to be included in the multilingual standard forms relating to birth, a person being alive, death, marriage (including capacity to marry and marital status), registered partnership (including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status), domicile and/or residence and absence of a criminal record, as well as multilingual glossaries of the standard entry headings, are set out in Annexes I to XI, respectively.

3. Each multilingual standard form shall also contain, where applicable, a non-standard part consisting of country-specific entry headings designed to reflect the content of the public document to which the multilingual standard form is to be attached, and the code numbers of those entry headings.

4. The country-specific entry headings referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article shall be communicated by the Member States to the Commission in accordance with Article 24(2).

5. Each multilingual standard form shall also include a multilingual glossary of both the standard entry headings and the country-specific entry headings in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union.

Article 10

Languages of issuance of multilingual standard forms

1. The multilingual standard forms shall be filled in by the issuing authority in the official language of its Member State or, if that Member State has several official languages, in the official language or one of the official languages of the place where the multilingual standard form is issued.

2. The standard part and the country-specific entry headings of the multilingual standard forms shall be in both of the following languages:

(a)the official language of the Member State in which the multilingual standard form is issued or, if that Member State has several official languages, the official language or one of the official languages of the place where the multilingual standard form is issued, that language being also one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union; and

(b)the official language of the Member State in which the public document to which the multilingual standard form is attached is to be presented or, if that Member State has several official languages, the official language or one of the official languages of the place where the public document to which the multilingual standard form is attached is to be presented, that language being also one of the official languages of the institutions of the Union.

3. The standard part and the country-specific entry headings in the two languages referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article and the multilingual glossary referred to in Article 9(5) shall be included in a single multilingual standard form.

Article 11

Fee for obtaining a multilingual standard form

In order to further facilitate the free circulation of public documents within the Union, Member States shall ensure that the fee for obtaining a multilingual standard form does not exceed the production cost of the multilingual standard form or of the public document to which the form is attached, whichever is lower.

Article 12

Electronic versions of multilingual standard forms

The European e-Justice Portal shall contain, for each Member State, model multilingual standard forms relating to birth, a person being alive, death, marriage (including capacity to marry and marital status) and, where applicable, registered partnership (including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status), domicile and/or residence and absence of a criminal record, established in accordance with this Regulation in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union and which include:

(a)the standard parts set out in Annexes I to XI; and

(b)the country-specific entry headings communicated by the Member States to the Commission in accordance with Article 24(2).

CHAPTER IV - REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION


Article 13

Internal Market Information System

The Internal Market Information System (‘IMI’) established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 shall be used for the purposes of Articles 14 and 16 and Article 22 (1) and (2) of this Regulation.

Article 14

Requests for information in cases of reasonable doubt

1. Where the authorities of a Member State in which a public document or its certified copy is presented have a reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of that public document or its certified copy, they shall take the following steps to dispel their doubt:

(a)check the available models of documents in the repository of IMI as referred to in Article 22;

(b)if a doubt remains, submit a request for information through IMI:

(i)to the authority that issued the public document or, where applicable, to the authority that made the certified copy, or to both; or

(ii)to the relevant central authority.

2. A reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of a public document or its certified copy as referred to in paragraph 1 may relate, in particular, to:

(a)the authenticity of the signature;

(b)the capacity in which the person signing the document acted;

(c)the identity of the seal or stamp;

(d)the document having been forged or tampered with.

3. Requests for information made under this Article shall set out the grounds on which they are based.

4. Requests for information made under this Article shall be accompanied by a copy of the public document concerned or of its certified copy, transmitted electronically by means of IMI. Such requests and any replies to those requests shall not be subject to any tax, duty or charge.

5. The authorities shall reply to requests for information made under this Article within the shortest possible period of time and in any case within a period not exceeding 5 working days or 10 working days where the request is processed through a central authority.

In exceptional cases where the time limits referred to in the first subparagraph cannot be adhered to, the requested authority and the requesting authority shall agree upon an extension of the time limit.

6. If the authenticity of the public document or of its certified copy is not confirmed, the requesting authority shall not be obliged to process them.

Article 15

Designation of central authorities

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, each Member State shall designate at least one central authority.

2. Where a Member State has designated more than one central authority, it shall designate the central authority to which communications may be addressed for transmission to the appropriate authority within that Member State.

Article 16

Functions of central authorities

Central authorities shall provide assistance in relation to requests for information pursuant to Article 14, and, in particular, shall:

(a)transmit, receive and, where necessary, answer such requests; and

(b)supply the information necessary in respect of those requests.

CHAPTER V - RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER PROVISIONS OF UNION LAW AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS


Article 17

Relationship with other provisions of Union law

1. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of other provisions of Union law on legalisation, similar formality, or other formalities, and shall be complementary to such provisions.

2. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Union law on electronic signatures and electronic identification.

3. This Regulation is without prejudice to the use of other systems of administrative cooperation established by Union law which provide for exchange of information between the Member States in specific areas.

Article 18

Amendment to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012

In the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012, the following point is added:

‘9.Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 on promoting the free movement of citizens by simplifying the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the European Union and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 (*): Articles 14 and 16 and Article 22(1) and (2).

Article 19

Relationship with international conventions, agreements and arrangements

1. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of international conventions to which one or more Member States are party at the time of adoption of this Regulation and which concern matters covered by this Regulation.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, this Regulation shall, in relation to matters to which it applies and to the extent provided for therein, prevail over other provisions contained in bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements concluded by the Member States in the relations between the Member States party thereto.

3. This Article is without prejudice to the second subparagraph of Article 1(1).

4. This Regulation shall not preclude Member States from negotiating, concluding, acceding to, amending or applying international agreements and arrangements with third countries concerning legalisation or similar formality in respect of public documents concerning matters covered by this Regulation, and issued by the authorities of Member States or third countries in order to be used in relations between the Member States and the third countries concerned. This Regulation shall not preclude Member States from deciding on the acceptance of the accession of new contracting parties to such agreements and arrangements to which one or more Member States is or may decide to become party.

CHAPTER VI - GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS


Article 20

Purpose limitation

1. The exchange and transmission of information and documents by the Member States pursuant to this Regulation shall serve the sole purpose of verifying the authenticity of public documents by the competent authorities through IMI.

2. This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States regarding public access to public documents.

Article 21

Information in relation to the content of this Regulation

The Commission and the Member States shall make information in relation to the content of this Regulation available through appropriate means, including through the European e-Justice Portal and the websites of Member States' authorities.

Article 22

Information on central authorities and contact details

1. By 16 August 2018, the Member States shall use IMI to communicate the following:

(a)the central authority or authorities designated pursuant to Article 15(1) together with their contact details and, where relevant, the authority designated pursuant to Article 15(2);

(b)models for the most commonly used public documents under their respective national law or, where no model exists, information about the specific features of the public document concerned; and

(c)anonymised versions of forged documents which have been detected.

2. The Member States shall use IMI to communicate any subsequent changes to the information referred to in paragraph 1.

3. The Commission shall make publicly available through any appropriate means:

(a)the information referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1;

(b)any information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 which is publicly available under the law of the Member State whose authorities issued the public document.

Article 23

Exchange of best practice

1. An ad hoc committee composed of representatives of the Commission and the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission shall be established.

2. The ad hoc committee referred to in paragraph 1 shall take any measures necessary to facilitate the application of this Regulation, in particular by facilitating the exchange and regular updating of best practice concerning:

(a)the application of this Regulation between the Member States;

(b)the prevention of fraud involving public documents, certified copies and certified translations;

(c)the use of electronic versions of public documents;

(d)the use of multilingual standard forms;

(e)detected forged documents.

Article 24

Information to be communicated by Member States

1. By 16 August 2018, the Member States shall communicate to the Commission:

(a)the languages they will accept for the public documents to be presented to their authorities pursuant to point (a) of Article 6(1);

(b)an indicative list of public documents falling within the scope of this Regulation;

(c)the list of public documents to which multilingual standard forms may be attached as a suitable translation aid;

(d)the lists of persons qualified, in accordance with national law, to carry out certified translations, where such lists exist;

(e)an indicative list of types of authorities empowered by national law to make certified copies;

(f)information relating to the means by which certified translations and certified copies can be identified; and

(g)information about the specific features of certified copies.

2. By 16 February 2017, each Member State shall communicate to the Commission, in its official language or languages, that language or those languages being also an official language or official languages of the institutions of the Union, the country-specific entry headings to be included in the multilingual forms relating to birth, a person being alive, death, marriage (including capacity to marry and marital status) and, where applicable, registered partnership (including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status), domicile and/or residence and absence of a criminal record.

3. By 16 February 2018, the Commission shall publish the lists of country-specific entry headings received pursuant to paragraph 2 in the Official Journal of the European Union and in the European e-Justice Portal in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union.

4. The Member States shall communicate to the Commission any subsequent changes to the information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

5. The Commission shall make publicly available through the European e-Justice Portal:

(a)the information referred to in points (a) to (f) of paragraph 1; and

(b)the information referred to in point (g) of paragraph 1 which is publicly available under the law of the Member State whose authorities made the certified copy.

Article 25

Amendment of country-specific entry headings in the multilingual standard forms

1. The Member States shall notify the Commission of any amendments to the country-specific entry headings referred to in Article 24(2).

2. The Commission shall publish amendments, as referred to in paragraph 1, to the country-specific entry headings in the Official Journal of the European Union.

3. The Commission shall make amendments, as referred to in paragraph 1, to the country-specific entry headings publicly available through the European e-Justice Portal and shall amend the model multilingual standard forms for each Member State accordingly.

Article 26

Review

1. By 16 February 2024, and at the latest every three years thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee a report on the application of this Regulation, including an evaluation of any practical experience relevant to cooperation between central authorities. That report shall also contain an assessment of the appropriateness of:

(a)the extension of the scope of this Regulation to public documents relating to matters other than those referred to in Article 2 and in point (a) of paragraph 2 of this Article;

(b)in the event of an extension of the scope as referred to in point (a) of this paragraph, the establishment of multilingual standard forms for public documents relating to the matters identified under point (a) of this paragraph to which the scope of this Regulation may be extended; and

(c)the use of electronic systems for the direct transmission of public documents and the exchange of information between the authorities of the Member States in order to exclude any possibility of fraud in relation to the matters covered by this Regulation.

2. By 16 February 2021, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee, an assessment report on the appropriateness of:

(a)the extension of the scope of this Regulation to:

(i)public documents relating to the legal status and representation of a company or other undertaking;

(ii)diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications; and

(iii)public documents attesting an officially recognised disability;

(b)the establishment of multilingual standard forms relating to:

(i)public documents referred to in Article 2(1) for which multilingual standard forms are not established by this Regulation; and

(ii)public documents relating to the matters identified under point (a) of this paragraph to which the scope of this Regulation may be extended;

(c)the use of electronic systems for the direct transmission of public documents and the exchange of information between the authorities of the Member States in order to exclude any possibility of fraud in relation to the matters covered by this Regulation.

3. The reports referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be accompanied, where appropriate, by proposals for adaptations, in particular as regards the extension of the scope of this Regulation to public documents relating to new matters as referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1 and point (a) of paragraph 2, the establishment of new multilingual standard forms, as referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 and point (b) of paragraph 2 and the use of electronic systems for the direct transmission of public documents and the exchange of information between the authorities of the Member States as referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 and point (c) of paragraph 2.

Article 27

Entry into force

1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

2. It shall apply from 16 February 2019, with the exception of:

(a)Article 24(2) which shall apply from 16 February 2017;

(b)Article 12 and Article 24(3) which shall apply from 16 February 2018; and

(c)Article 22 and Article 24(1), which shall apply from 16 August 2018.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.