Bolivia, Costa Rica, Singapore and Viet Nam: Hague Conventions enter into force

On 1 October 2016, the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Service Convention) entered into force for the Republic of Costa Rica and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. On that same day, the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Child Abduction...

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Ghana accedes to the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption

On 21 September 2016, the Permanent Bureau was informed that on 16 September 2016, Ghana had deposited its instrument of accession to the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and thus became the 98th Contracting State to this Convention. The Convention will enter into force for Ghana on 1 January 2017. It is the first Hague...

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2015 Hague Principles now available in Spanish

The 2015 Hague Principles, which consist of an Introduction, a Preamble, 12 Articles and a Commentary, are now available in Spanish thanks to the translation provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain as a voluntary in-kind contribution. The translation was revised by the Permanent Bureau. The 2015 Hague Principles were prepared in English and French, which are the official...

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The United States of America ratifies the 2007 Hague Convention on Child Support

On 7 September 2016, the United States of America deposited its Instrument of ratification of the Hague Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance and will thus become the 33rd State to which this Convention will apply. The United States of America was the first State to sign the Convention on the day of its adoption on 23...

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Chile and the Apostille Convention

On 30 August 2016, upon the entry into force of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) for the Republic of Chile, the Government of Chile also began issuing e-Apostilles and launched a Category 3 e-Register, as part of the electronic Apostille Program (e-APP) under the Apostille Convention. Similar to...

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Brazil and the Apostille Convention

On 14 August 2016, upon the entry into force of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) for the Federal Republic of Brazil, the National Council of Justice of Brazil also launched a Category 2 e-Register as part of the electronic Apostille Program (e-APP) under the Apostille Convention. The...

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The Apostille Convention enters into force for Morocco

On 14 August 2016, the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) entered into force for the Kingdom of Morocco. Having acceded to the Apostille Convention on 27 November 2015, Morocco became the 110th Contracting State to the Convention, which now counts 112 Contracting States. Morocco has been a Member...

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Kyrgyzstan accedes to the 1993 Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption

On 12 August 2016, the Permanent Bureau was informed that on 25 July 2016, Kyrgyzstan deposited its instrument of accession to the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and thus became the 97th Contracting State to this Convention. The Convention will enter into force for Kyrgyzstan on 1 November 2016. Kyrgyzstan is also a...

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The Dominican Republic seeks membership in the Hague Conference

On Friday 29 July 2016, the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law formally opened the six month period for existing Member States to vote on the proposal of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to admit the Dominican Republic as a new Member of the Organisation. The Netherlands presented its proposal in response to interest expressed by the Dominican...

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Regional meeting: “International Family Law, Legal Co-operation and Commerce: promoting human rights and cross-border trade in the Caribbean through the Hague Conference Conventions

From 13 to 15 July 2016, 118 participants from 25 States and overseas territories1, including Attorneys General and Ministers of Justice, Chief Justices, Judges, Representatives from Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Child Protection Authorities, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, NGOs, academics and...

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