Recent developments at the Hague Conference

Asser Institute, The Hague22 May 2014

Prof. Dr. Marta PertegásFirst Secretary

Hague Conference on Private International Law

The Origins of the Hague Conference on Private International Law

◦ Statute adopted in 1951 (entry into force 1955)

◦ Signed by 16 States:Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom

◦ The Permanent Bureau (PB) is established as its Secretariat

1893 1955 2014

A Permanent International Organisation since 1955

The Permanent Bureau of the HCCH

◦ “On the move”… Seat to move to Churchillplein 6 in July 2014

◦ The PB is composed of the Secretary General and diplomat-lawyers (Secretaries), as well as legal officers, administrative, technical and translation staff

◦ Operates under the direction of the Council on General Affairs and Policy (organ representing the Members)

Regional presence

Latin AmericaRegional Office in Buenos Aires(commenced operations in 2005)

Permanent Bureauin The Hague

Asia PacificRegional Office in Hong Kong(opened in December 2012)

Slide 5

HCCH Members in 2014

76 Members (75 States and the European Union)

Slide 6

Admitted StateMember State

Candidate State

Connected States in 2014

143 States are “connected” to the HCCH

Slide 7

Member of the Hague

Conference

Non-Member State that is a Contracting State or signatory to at least one Hague Convention

Commercial and finance law

Key Hague Instruments:

• 1985 Trusts Convention (12 CS)

• 2006 Securities Convention (2 CS) (not yet in force)

• Draft Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts

The Hague Conventions: Three main areas

Child protection, family and property

relations

Key Hague Conventions:

•1980 Child Abduction Convention (92 CS)

• 1993 IntercountryAdoption Convention (93 CS)

• 1996 Child Protection Convention (40 CS)

• 2007 Child Support Convention (5 CP) (4CS +EU) and Protocol (2 CP) (1CS + EU)

• 1961 Form of Wills Convention (42 CS)

Legal co-operation and litigation

Key Hague Conventions:

• 1961 ApostilleConvention (106 CS)

• 1965 Service Convention (68 CS)

• 1970 Evidence Convention (58 CS)

• 1980 Access to Justice Convention (26 CS)

• 2005 Choice of Court Convention (1 CS; EU about to approve the Convention) (not yet in force)

Two normative projects…

◦ I. The Parentage/Surrogacy Project

◦ II. The Judgments Project

I. The Parentage/Surrogacy Project

◦ In 2010, the Council asked the PB to prepare a Preliminary Note on the “private international law issues surrounding the status of children”, and to keep international surrogacy arrangements under review.

Current work…

Survey of comparative law

Enhance interconnectivity of different legal approaches

Is there consensus for further work?

Preliminary Document No 3 of March 2014

Need to ensure legal

status to children

Feasibility?Experts’

Group to be set up

The Judgments Project

◦ A global instrument on the recognition andenforcement of foreign judgments has been an interestof the Hague Conference since the early 1990s (‘Judgmentsproject’)

• Such a Convention would be a major reinforcement oflegal certainty in international trade

◦ The Hague Conference was mandated in 2011 tocontemplate resuming the Judgments Project

• Expert Group (to study the feasibility of further work ininternational jurisdiction) and the Working Group (todraft provisions on recognition and enforcement ofjudgments)

• Two meetings so far > priority shifting towards WorkingGroup’s mandate

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