[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 30, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39584-39585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18988]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

22 CFR Part 131

[Public Notice 2413]


Bureau of Administration; Certificates of Authentication

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule amends Department of State regulations on issuance 
of certificates of authentication to provide for Assistant 
Authentication Officers, in addition to the Authentication Officer and 
Acting Authentication Officer, to authenticate documents on behalf of 
the Secretary of State.

EFFECTIVE DATES: July 31, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: K.E. Malmborg, Attorney Adviser, 
Officer of the Legal Adviser, Department of State, 22d and C Street 
N.W., Washington D.C. 20520, Telephone (202) 647-5154.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 22 CFR part 131 was issued in 1957. At that 
time, the volume of authentications of legal documents for use outside 
the United States and of foreign legal documents for use within the 
United States was such that the Department of State Authentication 
Officer, or Acting Authentication Officer, could perform the 
authentication function. The volume of such authentications is now such 
that, even with the entry into force for the United States of the 
Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign 
public documents of October 5, 1961 (33 UST 883), it is no longer 
practical for a single officer to perform this function. In order to 
enable the Department to respond more effectively to the needs of the 
public, this rule provides for additional officers to exercise 
authority to authenticate documents.
    This rule relates to internal agency management. Therefore, 
pursuant to 5 USC 553, notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunity 
for comment are not required, and this rule may be made effective less 
than 30-days after publication in the Federal Register. Further, since 
this rule relates to internal agency management, it is exempt from the 
provisions of Executive Orders 12778 and 12866. Also, this rule is not 
a major rule and will not cause a significant economic impact or other 
substantial effect on small entities. Therefore, the requirements of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 USC 601 et seq., do not apply. Nor 
does the rule impose unfunded mandates requiring analysis under the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Because this is a rule of

[[Page 39585]]

agency organization, it is not required to be submitted to the Congress 
and the General Accounting Officer under the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996; however, it is anticipated that 
having additional authentication officers will expedite the processing 
of authentication requests by small entities.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 131

    Seals and insignia.

    Accordingly, under the authority of 5 USC 301 and 553 and 22 USC 
2651a, Sec. 131.1 is revised to read as follows:

    The Authentication Officer, Acting Authentication Officer, or 
any Assistant Authentication Officer designated by either of the 
former officers may, and is hereby authorized to, sign and issue 
certificates of authentication under the seal of the Department of 
State for and in the name of the Secretary of State or the Acting 
Secretary of State. The form of authentication shall be as follows:
    In testimony whereof, I, ____________________, Secretary of 
State have hereunto caused the seal of the Department of State to be 
affixed and my name subscribed by the Authentication Officer, Acting 
Authentication Officer, or an Assistant Authentication Officer, of 
the said Department, at________. in ____________, this ________ day 
of ________________ 19______
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(Secretary of State)

By---------------------------------------------------------------------

(____________________ Authentication Officer, Department of State)
(22 U.S.C. 2651a)

    Dated: July 12, 1996.
Patrick F. Kennedy,
Assistant Secretary for Administration.
[FR Doc. 96-18988 Filed 7-29-96; 8:45 am]
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