HCCH Monthly Update: September and October 2026

Membership

On 17 September 2026, Qatar deposited its instrument of acceptance of the Statute, becoming the 95^th Member of the HCCH. Qatar’s membership is its first formal connection with the HCCH, bringing the total number of States and Parties connected to the HCCH to 160. More information is available here.

Conventions & Instruments

On 16 September 2026, the Republic of Moldova acceded to the 2007 Child Support Convention. With this accession, 56 States and the European Union are bound by the 2007 Child Support Convention. It will enter into force for the Republic of Moldova on 22 September 2027. More information is available here.

On 13 October 2026, Montenegro acceded to the 2000 Protection of Adults Convention. With this accession, the 2000 Protection of Adults Convention now has 17 Contracting Parties. It will enter into force for Montenegro on 1 August 2027. More information is available here.

Meetings & Events

From 1 to 4 September 2026, the Experts’ Group (EG) on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) held its sixth working meeting. Pursuant to its mandate, the EG continued to make progress in its study of the jurisdiction and applicable law issues raised by the cross-border use and transfers of CBDCs, including the desirability and feasibility of a possible future instrument on these issues, with particular attention to their use in payments with a cross-border or international element. More information is available here.

On 24 and 25 September 2026, the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH held a training on the HCCH’s core family law Conventions and projects for a group of judges and court officials from 22 EU Member States. The training was organised in cooperation with the European Judicial Training Network.

On 15 October 2026, the HCCH-IDLO Joint Dialogue on Accelerating Justice Delivery through Public Access to Legal Information was held online, co-hosted by the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) and the HCCH.

Upcoming events

Registration is open for the webinar “The 2005 Choice of Court Convention: Expanding Participation in Asia and the Pacific”, hosted by the HCCH Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. The webinar will be held via Zoom on Monday 9 November 2026 from 4.00 to 5.30 p.m. (Hong Kong time).  Interested persons should register no later than Friday 6 November 2026 at 5.00 p.m. (CET) via the registration form. More information is available here.

Save the date! “Training Tomorrow’s Lawyers”, a conference in sponsorship of INCADAT, the International Child Abduction Database, will be held in London on 14 January 2027. The conference is organised by Dawson Cornwell and Harcourt Chambers with the support of the Permanent Bureau of the HCCH.

Vacancies

Applications are now open for three- to six-month legal internships for the period from March to September 2027. The deadline for the submission of applications is 9 November 2026. More information is available here.

These monthly updates are published by the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), providing an overview of the latest developments. More information and materials are available on the HCCH website.