NOTARIZATION OF POWER OF ATTORNEY FORMS REGARDING REAL ESTATE IN SERBIA AND NOTARIZATION OF INHERITANCE STATEMENTS
Pursuant to regulations in the Republic of Serbia, Power of Attorney forms regarding real estate in Serbia and inheritance statements can be notarized in the Embassy, in accordance with a public notary form as prescribed by the law, i.e. in a form that includes a clause on certification of document (solemnization clause).
A person granting Power of Attorney or making an inheritance statement is required to appear personally and identify himself/herself by a valid passport or identity card of the Republic of Serbia. A valid foreign passport shall also be accepted. A person granting Power of Attorney or making a statement is required to submit a text of the Power of Attorney or a statement prepared in advance by a qualified person in the Republic of Serbia (solicitor or notary public), in a specific form and content. The Power of Attorney and statements shall be signed personally in the Embassy.
For certification regarding real estate in the Republic of Serbia and certification of inheritance statements in the public notary form, i.e. their solemnization, it is necessary that the documents to be certified along with a copy of the valid Serbian passport or identity card be sent in an electronic form to the Consular Section of the Embassy in advance (consular.canberra@mfa.rs). After that, an appointment shall be made by e-mail or phone to have these documents solemnized in person.
Please note that the notarization of Power of Attorney forms can be done for documents in Serbian language only and that the persons signing the document should understand and be fluent in Serbian language.
The Embassy is not authorised to prepare notarised statements, nor to solemnise private documents such as transfer of property contracts (land, apartment, house, or similar), including contracts of sale or exchange, gift, life time support, transfer, division of assets for life or similar. These transactions can only be undertaken by the notary public of the territory in Serbia where the property is located.
SIGNATURE CERTIFICATION ON OTHER POWER OF ATTORNEYS/ AUTHORISATIONS/STATEMENTS
Certification of signature on private documents has to be done at the Embassy based on a valid document of the Republic of Serbia (passport or identity card). If a document is intended for use in Serbia, foreign national passport can be accepted as proof of ID.
Private documents (power of attorney, authorisation, statements) that require signature certification by the Embassy has to be written in Serbian language. The document is signed at the Embassy and is registered in the Legalisation Registry.
CERTIFICATION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS – APOSTILLE
Like Serbia, Australia, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu are signatories of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, where foreign documents certified with the Apostille stamp do not require legalisation, in order to be used in those countries.
Public documents issued in the Republic of Serbia or in these countries (certificates of birth, marriage or death certificates, certificates of attorney, diplomas, etc.) may be used in the other State signatory of the Hague Convention if they are certified in accordance with the Hague Convention with the "Apostille" certificate. The certified document has to be translated into Serbian language by an authorised translator or court interpreter.
The authority competent to issue the Apostille certificate in Australia is the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Australian Passports Office Legalisation Services). The Apostille certificate cannot be issued at the Embassy.
Documents certified by a Justice of the Peace (JP) cannot be authenticated by an Apostille certificate and their signatures are not recognised outside of Australia.
For further information, please contact the Consular Section of the Embassy or refer to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
