Hague Convention

What Is the Hague Convention?

The term Hague Convention refers collectively to international treaties negotiated under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), an intergovernmental organization headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. There are nearly 40 Hague Conventions covering subjects from international child abduction to choice of court agreements. The United States is a party to several but not all.

Notable Hague Conventions

• **Apostille Convention (1961)**: simplifies authentication of public documents for use abroad - **Service Convention (1965)**: governs cross-border service of judicial and extrajudicial documents - **Evidence Convention (1970)**: governs taking of evidence abroad in civil and commercial matters - **Hague Child Abduction Convention (1980)**: provides for prompt return of children wrongfully removed across borders - **Hague Choice of Court Convention (2005)**: enforces exclusive choice of court agreements internationally - **Hague Judgments Convention (2019)**: provides for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

Practical Significance

Cross-border practitioners must determine which Hague Conventions apply between the relevant countries and follow their procedures. Failure to comply — for example, attempting to serve a foreign defendant by ordinary mail in a Service Convention country — can invalidate the proceedings. Hague Convention procedures often add weeks or months to international litigation timelines, so they should be factored into case strategy. The U.S. State Department's Office of Children's Issues serves as the U.S. Central Authority for the Child Abduction Convention; the Department of Justice handles many other Convention matters.