Delegates and observers from more than sixty nations and fourteen NGOs met in The Hague from October 10-17, 2017, to consider the practical operation of two Hague agreements: the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention. Materials from Special Commission meeting, including the final Conclusions and Recommendations, are available on Hague Conference website (here).
Special Commission Meeting on the Adoption Convention
Delegates from 74 countries and 18 international organizations met in The Hague to review the practical operation of the Hague Adoption Convention in June 2015. With the accession of Zambia and Cote d'Ivoire, the Convention has a total of 95 contracting states, and one focus of the meeting was the development of practical tools to assist new countries with implementing and operating of the Convention.
U.S. Enacts Implementing Legislation for 2007 Child Support Convention
September 30, 2014: Earlier today, President Barack Obama signed HR 4890, which includes provisions for implementation of the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.
Three New Countries Join the Hague Adoption Convention
Croatia, Haiti and Serbia joined the Hague Adoption Convention in December 2013. It will come into effect in all three countries on April 1, 2014, bringing the number of Contracting States to 93. The Hague Conference announcement is available here.
Japan Joins the Abduction Convention
Japan deposited its instrument of ratification for the Hague Child Abduction Convention on Friday, January 24, 2014 and became the 91st contracting state. The Convention will enter into force for Japan on April 1.
Hague Update
Lots of news this Spring from the Hague Conference., which announced in March that Cristophe Bernasconi will be the new Secretary General when Hans Van Loon retires at the end of June.
Hague Developments
Among other news from the Hague Conference this month:
U.K. Joins Hague Child Protection Convention
The United Kingdom has deposited its instruments of ratification for the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention, bringing the total number of Contracting States to 36, including most members of the European Union. The Convention will enter into force for the U.K
New Projects for the Hague Conference
The Conclusions and Recommendations adopted by the Hague Conference General Affairs Council at its meeting in April 2012 include two interesting new projects in connection with the Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions. The Council authorized a new Working Group to develop a Guide to Good Practice on the interpretation and application of Article 13(b) of the Abduction Convention which allows a court to deny a return order where there is a s
Special Commission Makes Recomendations
Winding up its work on January 31, the Special Commission on the practical operation of the Hague Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions, made a series of recommendations including these: