HCCH Monthly Update: December 2023 – January 2024
Conventions & Instruments
On 1 December 2023, the 1965 Service Convention entered into force for Singapore. The Convention currently has 82 Contracting Parties. More information is available here.
On 1 January 2024, the 1965 Service Convention entered into force for Paraguay. The Convention currently has 82 Contracting Parties. More information is available here.
On 9 January 2024, Cabo Verde deposited its instrument of accession to the 2007 Child Support Convention. With the accession of Cabo Verde, 49 States and the European Union are bound by the Convention. More information is available here.
On 11 January 2024, the 1961 Apostille Convention entered into force for Canada. The Convention currently has 126 Contracting Parties. More information is available here.
On 12 January 2024, the United Kingdom signed the 2019 Judgments Convention. The Convention will enter into force for the United Kingdom only after the deposit of an instrument of ratification (pursuant to Art. 28(2) of the Convention). Currently, 29 HCCH Members are either bound by the 2019 Judgments Convention or a Contracting Party for which the Convention has not yet entered into force (Uruguay). More information is available here.
Meetings & Events
From 24 to 26 January 2024, the Working Group on the Financial Aspects of Intercountry Adoption met for the second time. Its mandate is to take stock of current practices, identify possible coordinated, targeted, practical approaches, and to prioritise them with the understanding that the objective would be to raise standards using the HCCH Guides to Good Practice and the Note on the Financial Aspects of Intercountry Adoption as the starting point. More information is available here.
From 29 to 31 January 2024, the International Transfer of Maintenance Funds Experts’ Group met for the fifth time. Pursuant to its mandate, the Experts’ Group continued its work discussing good practices in relation to the cross-border transfer of maintenance payments.
Publications
On 22 January 2024, the Permanent Bureau announced the publication of the Spanish translation of the Toolkit for Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption. This publication aims to assist Contracting Parties to the 1993 Adoption Convention, as well as all actors and persons involved in adoption, to properly implement and operate the Convention. More information is available here.
Other
On 9 January 2024, messages were transmitted digitally from State to State via iSupport for the first time. Several official messages under the EU 2009 Maintenance Regulation were exchanged between Germany and Sweden using iSupport’s e-CODEX system. 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.