AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES
Legal Assistance
Notary Services
A U.S. consular officer may perform notary services similar
to those performed by a notary public in the United States. Such services
include, but are not limited to, acknowledging signatures on documents for use
in the U.S., authenticating documents and copies thereof, and taking depositions.
Fees are charged in accordance
with the Code of Federal Regulations and vary by the type of notary act to be
performed.
A consular officer cannot draft legal documents for private
persons nor act as an attorney or paralegal. He/she can, however, refer you to
publications where standard legal forms and documents can be found and can
provide a list of attorneys practicing law within the consular district.
More information on authentication of documents for use
abroad can be found at the
State Department’s website.
List of English speaking attorneys
List of official
translators.
Mutual Recognition of Documents between the U.S. and Spain
Both Spain and the U.S. are signatory to The Hague
Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public
Documents. The purpose of the Convention was to abolish the requirement of
diplomatic/consular legalization for public documents originating in one country
for use in another. The Convention calls for the use of a single signature by a
designated certifying official. Under the Convention, the standard
certification is called the Apostille. To obtain the Apostille for U.S.
documents to be used in Spain, you should send the document to the Secretary of
State of the U.S. State where the document was issued. Obtaining the Apostille
for Spanish documents to be used in the U.S. requires that the document be sent
to one of a number of agencies, depending on the document type. Additional
information can be found by contacting the:
Spanish Ministry of Justice
Calle San Bernardo, 45,
Madrid
Telephone 91 390-2011,
Internet:
http://www.mju.es/mapostilla.htm
Spanish Law
American citizens in Spain, whether they be tourists,
students, businessmen or residents, are subject to Spanish laws and to the
Spanish judicial/penal system in the event they are accused of violating Spanish
law.
The following rights are guaranteed by the Spanish
constitution:
Right to due process of law Right to an impartial judge Right to defense Right to counsel by an attorney Right to be informed of charges Right to a public and speedy trial Right to use all available means of evidence in one's defense Right not to testify against one's interest Right not to self-incrimination Right to be presumed innocent
List of
English speaking attorneys
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