In the status table of the Service Convention, Contracting Parties to this Convention that are also Members of the HCCH are in bold and Contracting Parties that are not Members of the HCCH are in italics. In other words, a country does not need to be a Member of the Hague Conference to be Party to the Service Convention.
When checking the status table of the Service Convention, always keep the following in mind:
1. Check if both the country where the documents originate and the country where the documents are to be transmitted for service are listed in the status table.
2. There are different ways for a country to become a Party to the Convention (ratification, accession, succession or continuation), but these differences have no impact on how the Convention operates in the country.[1]
3. Look for the column ‘EIF' and check the date of entry into force of the Convention for both countries - if the Convention is in force in both countries, it may be applied.[2]
4. Check whether the Convention applies to the entire territory of a country or only to parts of it; to find out, see if there is a link in the columns entitled ‘Ext' and ‘Res/D/N' - if so, click on it and read the relevant information.
[1] Only countries represented at the Tenth Session of the Hague Conference (where the Convention was concluded) may sign and ratify the Convention. Any other country may become a Party to the Convention by accession.
[2] For a State becoming a Party by accession, the Convention only enters into force if no State that has ratified the Convention beforehand objects to the accession. This "right of veto" must be exercised within a period of six months after notification of the accession. So far, no country has exercised this right.