legalisation

noun · Legalisation

For foreign public documents, legalisation is the Legalisation: the consular officer of the state of use confirms the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the signatory and, where relevant, the seal, § 13 KonsG, never the content. Between the states of the Hague Convention of 1961 the Apostille replaces it. The German everyday word Legalisierung means making something lawful and is a false friend.

Which translation, when

konsularische Kettethe mechanism: a foreign public document is legalised by the consular officer of the state in which it is to be used, § 13 KonsG, the Legalisation confirming the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where applicable, the authenticity of the seal, regularly after a chain of pre-certifications in the state of origin; the content, correctness or effect of the document is outside the confirmation.

Apostillethe shortcut: between the contracting states of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 the Apostille replaces the Legalisation as the only formality that may be required, issued by the designated authority of the state where the document was made, confirming the same authenticity triad and nothing more; within the EU a regulation frees certain public documents, chiefly civil status, from both formalities, while notarial instruments are generally not covered.

Legalisierungthe false friend: in everyday German, Legalisierung means making something lawful, the Legalisierung of a substance or a practice; the term of the law of documents is Legalisation, and machine output that writes Legalisierung shifts an authentication formality into the register of drug policy and decriminalisation.

Why

Legalisation is the Legalisation, a rare case where the English and the German legal term match to the letter while the everyday German neighbour lies in wait. The mechanism first: a foreign public document that is to be used in Germany is legalised by the German consular officer in the state where it was made, and in the mirror case a German document by the consul of the state of use; § 13 KonsG defines what the act confirms, the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where applicable, the authenticity of the seal, regularly after a chain of pre-certifications by the authorities of the state of origin. What it never confirms is the content: a legalised document is authenticated, not verified. The shortcut second: between the contracting states of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 the Apostille replaces the Legalisation, as the only formality that may be required, issued not by a consul of the state of use but by the designated authority of the state where the document was made; it confirms the same triad and carries the same limit. Within the EU a regulation frees certain public documents, chiefly civil status, from both formalities, while notarial instruments are generally outside it. The trap last: everyday German uses Legalisierung for making something lawful, and machine output regularly writes Legalisierung where the law of documents says Legalisation, shifting an authentication formality into the register of decriminalisation. So the safe rendering is Legalisation for the formality, Apostille for the Hague shortcut, and Legalisierung never.

Typical mistakes

The Legalisation confirms the authenticity of signature, capacity and seal, § 13 KonsG, never the content, so a legalised document is authenticated, not verified.
Between Hague Convention states the Apostille replaces the Legalisation and is issued in the state of origin, so demanding a consular legalisation there asks for the wrong formality.
Everyday German Legalisierung means making something lawful, so writing it for the document formality shifts the text into the wrong register.

What matters

Rendering a passage on foreign documents, the translation should use Legalisation for the consular formality, Apostille where the Hague Convention applies, keep both limited to the authenticity triad, and avoid the everyday Legalisierung, which means making something lawful.

Authority

§ 13 KonsG

What the machine misses

The machine writes Legalisierung, the everyday word for making something lawful, where the source says legalisation, and shifts an authentication formality into the register of decriminalisation. It also blurs the mechanics, that the Legalisation of § 13 KonsG confirms only signature, capacity and seal, and that between Hague Convention states the Apostille of the state of origin replaces the consular act. The rendering mistakes both the word and the procedure.

See what the machine does with this clause →

Examples

legalisation of the document	Legalisation der Urkunde
an apostille under the Hague Convention	eine Apostille nach dem Haager Übereinkommen
exempt from legalisation	von der Legalisation befreit
the consular officer legalises the document	der Konsularbeamte legalisiert die Urkunde