As in the inheritance and other cases in the production of the “Specialized Law Associates” , as well as individually under the power of attorney of citizens, the SLA helps Ukrainian citizens and foreigners in reclamation of documents from various state and non-state institutions of Ukraine, with subsequent, if necessary, giving the documents legal force abroad, by a special certificate by apostization or consular legalization.

A special standard stamp on documents called APOSTILLE under the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, is repealed as a requirement for legalization of official foreign documents to be used on the territory of the signatory countries (more than 100 countries). In relation to the documents of those countries that have not acceded to the Convention, the procedure of consular legalization is applied, in which there must necessarily be an element of consular actions to the confirmation of authenticity of signatures (seals) on documents. Such procedure can be on-step step if the Ukrainian citizen signs a document for action, for example, in Canada, directly in the presence of the Canadian consul in Ukraine, or multistage, when the document for acting abroad, drawn up by a citizen of Ukraine, for example, at a notary, is certified also in other state institutions (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and only after that is sent for further assurance to the appropriate foreign consulate in Ukraine.

In addition to reclamation, apostilization and consular legalization of documents (certificates and extracts of registry offices, archival certificates, notarial documents, court decisions, medical certificates, education certificates), the SLA provides translation of documents into foreign languages by its translators or by using translation agencies.

In providing assistance, the SLA follows the norms of domestic legislation and international treaties with the participation of Ukraine concerning legal actions in this area. So, in the presence of an international treaty on legal assistance, where Ukraine is a party and where there are provisions that official documents of the parties are accepted on their territory without any additional certification (the 1993 Minsk Convention and 32 bilateral agreements with Ukraine’s participation), the SLA informs citizens, that neither the apostilization of documents nor their consular legalization is necessary.

The SLA takes over the costs of reclamation, apostilization, consular legalization and translation of documents in cases which are in its production. In all other cases, these services of SLA are paid separately. The fee depends on the number of documents and the timing.