The Apostille Convention enters into force for Bolivia
On 7 May 2018, the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) entered into force for Bolivia. Bolivia had acceded to the Apostille Convention on 6 September 2017. The Apostille Convention currently has 115 Contracting Parties. While not a Member State of the HCCH yet, Bolivia is currently Party to two...
Latvia launches a Category 2 e-Register
On 26 March 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia launched a Category 2 e-Register as part of the electronic Apostille Program (e-APP) under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention). The e-Register is available at...
The Apostille Convention enters into force for Tunisia
On 30 March 2018, the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) entered into force for Tunisia. Tunisia had acceded to the Apostille Convention on 10 July 2017. The Government of Tunisia has informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (i.e. the Depositary) that a Competent Authority under...
Council on General Affairs and Policy – Conclusions & Recommendations
From 13 to 15 March 2018, Members of the HCCH gathered in The Hague for the meeting of the Council on General Affairs and Policy. The Council was attended by 171 participants, representing 63 Members, one REIO and observers from four IGOs / eight NGOs. The Council reviewed the work of the Organisation carried out during the previous year and charted the course for future work. It recognised...
XXIst Volume of the Judges’ Newsletter (Winter-Spring 2018)
The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is pleased to announce the publication of the XXIst Volume of the Judges’ Newsletter (Winter-Spring 2018) with a special focus on ”The Seventh Meeting of the Special Commission on the practical operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention – 10-17...
Portugal signs and ratifies the Adults Convention
On 14 March 2018, Portugal signed and deposited its instrument of ratification to the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults (Adults Convention). With the signature and ratification of Portugal, the Adults Convention now has 11 Contracting Parties. The Adults Convention will enter into force for Portugal on 1 July 2018. Portugal has been a Member of the HCCH...
Belarus ratifies Child Support Convention
On 8 March 2018, the Permanent Bureau was informed that on 16 February 2018, Belarus has deposited its instrument of ratification to the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (Child Support Convention). With the ratification of Belarus, the Child Support Convention now has 39 Contracting Parties. The...
Annual Report of the HCCH 2017
The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law is pleased to announce the publication of the 2017 Annual Report. More information on how to obtain a paper copy of the Annual Report is available here....
Belgium begins issuing e-Apostilles
On 1st March 2018, the Belgian Competent Authorities have started to issue e-Apostilles. There will be a transitionary period until 1st May 2018, in which both paper and e-Apostilles will be issued. After this period, only e-Apostilles will only be issued, for both electronic and paper public documents. Once issued, the apostillised documents are sent to the requesting party by email (or to the...
Adults Convention enters into force for Latvia
On 1 March 2018 the Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults entered into force for Latvia following the deposit of its instrument of ratification to the Convention on 6 December 2017. The Adults Convention currently has 10 Contracting Parties. Latvia has been a member of the Hague Conference since 1992 and is already a Contracting Party to 13 other Hague...