The Hague Convention, officially known as the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, was formally signed on October 5, 1961, in the town of Luxembourg. However, it did not come into effect until January 14, 1965. Under this convention, there is no need for diplomatic (Embassy/Consulate) legalization of certificates when facilitating legal communication between member countries of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Instead, certificates merely require an Apostille Stamping from the Ministry of External Affairs, which validates the authenticity of the document for use in other member countries.