Greece signs and ratifies the 1993 Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention
On Wednesday 2 September 2009, the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption was signed and ratified by H.E. Mr Konstantinos Ioannis Rallis, Ambassador of Greece. Also attended the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at The Hague, as representatives of the Hague Conference, Mr Hans van Loon, Secretary General,...
Francophone Seminar on the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention, The Hague, 22-26 June 2009
The Francophone Seminar on the 1993 Adoption Convention, organised by the Hague Conference on Private International Law in partnership with the French Institute of the Netherlands and the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (International Organization of the Francophonie), and the Governments of Belgium (French-speaking community), Canada, France, Luxembourg and...
New Zealand issues first e-Apostille
On 13 May 2009, the Authentication Unit of the Department of Internal Affairs (Te Tari Taiwhenua) of New Zealand issued its first e-Apostille. This e-Apostille, issued in full conformity with the model suggested under the electronic Apostille Pilot Program (e-APP), is the first to be issued in the Asia-Pacific region. The Authentication Unit issued another e-Apostille on 14 May 2009. In both...
Nepal signs Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention
On Tuesday 28 April 2009, the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption was signed by H.E. Mr Pramesh Kuman Hamal, Ambassador of Nepal to the Benelux and the European Communities. Mr Deepak Dhital, DCM/Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Nepal, also attended the short ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague,...
Council on General Affairs
From 31 March until 2 April 2009, the Council on General Affairs was held in the building of the Academy of International Law in The Hague. The Conclusions and Recommendations have been published shortly after the meeting and are accessible here. See also items 163 and 164 of the News and events section, which are related to the 2009 Council....
Official launching by Mrs Alegría Borrás of the Spanish section of the HCCH website
In 1998, the website of the Hague Conference was created in the Organisation's official languages, French and English. To meet the growing demand within the international community to access this information in other languages, a section called "Other languages" was created. This new section contains links to translations in several languages of the Hague Conventions and other documents...
European Community signs Hague Choice of Court Convention
During the Council on General Affairs, the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements was signed by the European Community. As the Czech Republic is presiding the European Union, the Czech Minister of Justice, H.E. Mr Jirí Pospíšil, signed the Convention on behalf of the European Community. Since Mexico had already acceded in 2007, only...
Switzerland ratifies 1996 and 2000 Hague Conventions
On Friday, 27 March 2009, Switzerland deposited the instruments of ratification of the Hague Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children and the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults. Both Conventions will enter...
Third Malta Conference on Cross-Frontier Family Law Issues
Third Malta Judicial Conference on Cross-Frontier Family Law Issues, hosted by the Government of Malta in collaboration with the Hague Conference on Private International Law St. Julian’s (Malta), 24-26 March 2009 Purpose of the Conference The Conference continued the process of dialogue that began with the first (14-17 March 2004) and second (19-22 March 2006) Malta Conferences,...
International Adoption Round Table in Kyiv
International Round Table "Intercountry Adoption in Ukraine: International Law Implementation Issues" On 6 and 7 November 2008, an international Round Table was co-organised in Kyiv by the Ministry of Ukraine for Family, Youth and Sports (State Department for Adoption and Protection of Children Rights) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (Project Co-ordinator in...