3. The legal documents of the company

3.1. The incorporation documents

Incorporation documents are issued by the governmental body of the jurisdiction responsible for the company registration and records. The incorporation documents vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The incorporation certificate includes the name and date of registration of the company. Additionally depending on the jurisdictions there may be certificates showing the company registered directors, the company registered shareholders, registered address and other information.

3.2. The trust documents

The trust documents are prepared and delivered to the client after receiving the necessary informa¬tion from the client. The trust documents include:

• Confirmation letter from the Trust Company
• Declaration of Trust
• Instrument of Share Transfer (without date)
• Share Certificates
• Pre signed resignation letters from the nominee directors and secretary of the company (without date)

3.3. Power of Attorney

There are two types of Powers of Attorney that the company can furnish the beneficial owner in order to establish a visible con¬nection with and official authority from the company. (In addition to the ownership relationship which the client may not want to be visible). The Power of Attorney is issued upon written instructions from the client.

The first type is the general Power of Attorney with the company rendering all authority to the attorney to act on behalf of the company. This Power of Attorney is usually, but not necessarily, intended for the beneficial own¬ers of the company.

The second type is a specific Power of Attorney with limited authority to perform specific functions on behalf of the company. A specific Power of Attorney is usually requested for the client's associates or members of his management and person¬nel. Nominee directors usually issue the Power of Attorney for the period that their work as directors has been paid for.

3.4. Apostilled documents

Anyone who has had to conduct legal matters in one country on behalf of a person, legal or physical, residing in another, has probably faced the problem of the acceptability of these documents, and questions about their authenticity. The Hague Convention was signed on 5 October 1961 by a number of countries, in order to unify and standardize the method of legalizing documents issued in one country, for use in another. The apostille itself is a certificate issued by a govern¬ment body of one of the convention member countries, confirming the authenticity and legality of the document to which it is attached. It is used regularly in cases where documents of a company must be presented for various things such as opening bank accounts, buying shares, or registering a rep office in another country. Apostilled documents are, in accordance with the rules of the convention, fully acceptable in such cases as genuine legitimate legalized true documents.

3.5. Legalized documents

Another way of legalizing documents, in other words providing confirmation of the authenticity of the document to the party to whom the document is presented, is the legalization of the documents. This is done by the Embassy of the country where the documents are intended to be used. An original document is first legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where it is issued; in other words the Ministry confirms its authen¬ticity. Then the document goes to the Embassy, which, accepting the confirmation of the Ministry, legalizes the document also. The Embassy, in cases where documents in the language of the recipient country are required, can also confirm the correctness of the translation of the documents. Thus, the end result is a document, the authenticity and legality of which is fully confirmed by the Embassy of the recipient country, and as such will be fully accept¬able for legal transactions within that country.