Indonesia’s Minister of Justice, Supatman Andi Agtas, has called on Malaysia to consider acceding to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, also known as the Apostille Convention. This was reported by Indonesia’s news agency Antara.
Why Indonesia is advising Malaysia to join the Apostille Convention?
The Indonesian Minister of Justice made the proposal during a meeting with Dato’ Sri Azalina Othman Said, Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for Law and Institutional Reform.
Agtas noted that, given the geographical proximity of Indonesia and Malaysia, citizens of both countries frequently interact for both personal and business matters. In 2024, the Ministry of Justice recorded 6,339 apostille requests from Indonesian citizens whose documents were intended for use in Malaysia.
Agtas pointed out that Indonesia's accession to the Apostille Convention has already made it much easier for its citizens to legalize documents for use abroad.
In addition to document authentication mechanisms, the heads of the two countries’ legal ministries also discussed other legal issues — particularly those related to international arbitration.
How Indonesia joined the Apostille Convention
Earlier, Schmidt & Schmidt reported, hat the Apostille Convention officially came into force in Indonesia on June 4, 2022. Since then, every Indonesian citizen with a personal identification number has been able to apply for an apostille through a dedicated app.
By becoming a signatory to the Convention, Indonesia will now follow the positive global trend of simplifying the legalization process, said Andi Rachmiyanto, the General Director of the Protocol and Consular Affairs Department at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Indonesia has maintained one exception under Article 1 of the Apostille Convention: legalization is still required for documents issued by the Indonesian Prosecutor's Office.
What is an apostille?
What is an apostille? Why do I need an apostille? How do I get an apostille? - Our video will explain everything you need to know about the apostille. If you have a document that needs to be certified with an apostille for use abroad, Schmidt and Schmidt will assist you! We provide apostille services in more than 100 countries worldwide.
