Dutch Professor Tobias Asser, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1911, was the initiator of the first session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in 1893. He noticed the need for international conferences to develop instruments, treaties conventions, protocols etc., to regulate relationships between individuals in an international context.
The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has gradually included an ever widening circle of legal systems. The states that in the 1950s gave the Hague Conference its permanent status were largely continental European civil law systems, plus Japan and the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, the United States, Canada and other common law countries joined. Common law influence is likely to diminish after Brexit. Since the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999, the European Union is leading the negotiations for it member states in the Conference. Later, the Conference included China, other Asian countries and a large number of Latin American states.This century, a dialogue with Islamic systems has started. One of the results is the Malta Process, aimed at improving co-operation in cross-border family law disputes involving children with a view to finding solutions in situations where the relevant international legal framework is not applicable.
Members of the Conference are invited to deepen a common international perspective on how to handle legal diversity and to work together on instruments to permit coordination of legal systems. The Hague Conference on Private International Law has developed into the leading international forum for private international law harmonisation. At the moment the Hague Conference is a permanent intergovernmental organization, with regular plenary sessions, focused on many aspects of private international law (family law, contracts, recognition and execution of foreign judgments and many other subjects). The Hague Conference has seen impressive growth of both its membership and the range of States Parties to its Conventions.
This Research Guide is intended as a starting point for research on The Hague Conference on Private International Law. It provides the basic legal materials available in the Peace Palace Library, both in print and electronic format. Handbooks, leading articles, bibliographies, periodicals, serial publications and documents of interest are presented in the Selective Bibliography section. Links to the PPL Catalogue are inserted. The Library's subject heading (keyword) Hague Conference on Private International Law is instrumental for searching through the Catalogue. Special attention is given to our subscriptions on databases, e-journals, e-books and other electronic resources. Finally, this Research Guide features links to relevant websites and other online resources of particular interest.
Sources of international law
Treaties
- Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (The Hague, 15 November 1965)
- Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (The Hague, 30 June 2005)
- Conventions et protocoles de La Haye annotés: recueil annoté avec les jurisprudences des juridictions belges, françaises, luxembourgeoises et suisses ainsi que des juridictions européennes (CEDH et CJUE) / sous la direction de Guillaume Payan ; préface de Christophe Bernasconi, Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2020.
- Hague Judgments Convention: the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (The Hague, 2 July 2019)
- HCCH Conventions, Protocols and Principles (1954 - 2019)
- HCCH Old Conventions (1902 - 1945)
Soft law
- Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts (The Hague, 19 March 2015)
- Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts approved by the Hague Conference on Private International Law on 19 March 2015 = Principes Sur le Choix de la loi Applicable Aux Contrats Commerciaux Internationaux approuvé par la Conférence de la Haye de droit international privé le 19 mars 2015, 20 (2015), Uniform Law Review, No.2-3, pp. 362-489.
Reference works
- Borras, A. y González Campos, J.D. (eds.), Recopilación de los convenios de la Conferencia de La Haya de Derecho internacional privado (1951-2007), 2a ed. rev. edicion, Madrid, Marcial Pons, 2008.
- Bureau Permanent de la conférence, ed. by the Permanent Bureau of the conference: Recueil des conventions [de la] Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé = Collection of conventions [of the] Hague conference on private international law: (1951-1996), Antwerpen, Apeldoorn, Maklu, 1996.
- Bureau Permanent Conférence de la Haye de droit international privé (HCCH) = Permanent Bureau Hague Conference on Private International Law (ed.), Statut, Conventions, Protocoles, Principes = Statute, Conventions, Protocols, Principles, 9th edition The Hague, 2020.
- Eyffinger, A., Dreaming the Ideal, Living the Attainable: T. M. C. Asser (1838-1913), Founder of The Hague Tradition, The Hague, T.M.C. Asser Press, 2011.
- Payan, G. (dir.), Conventions et protocoles de La Haye annotés: recueil annoté avec les jurisprudences des juridictions belges, françaises, luxembourgeoises et suisses ainsi que des juridictions européennes (CEDH et CJUE), Bruxelles, Bruylant, 2020.
- Loon, H. van, "The Global Horizon of Private International Law: Inaugural Lecture, Private International Law Session", in: Hague Academy Collected Courses Vol. 380 = Recueil des cours, Tome 380 de la collection, 2015, pp. 9-108. [online book-item]
- John, T., Gulati, R. and Koehler, B. (eds.), The Elgar Companion to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020.
- Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law = Bureau Permanent de la Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé, A commitment to Private International Law: Essays in Honour of Hans van Loon = Un engagement au service du droit international privé: mélanges en l'honneur de Hans van Loon, Cambridge, Intersentia, 2013.
- Ramos, A. de Carvalho and Araujo, N. de (eds.), A Conferência da Haia de Direito Internacional Privado e seus Impactos na Sociedade - 125 anos (1893-2018), Belo Horizonte, Arraes Editores, 2018.
- Weller, M., Ribeiro-Bidaoui, J., Brinkmann, M. and Dethloff, N. (eds.), The HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention: Cornerstones, Prospects, Outlook, Oxford, New York, Hart, 2023.
Selected books and articles
- Araújo, N. de, Vargas, D. and Nardi, M. de, "The Procedural Hague Conventions and Their Implementation in Brazil", Yearbook of Private International Law, 20 (2020), pp. 149-170.
- Araújo, N. de, Vargas, D. and Gama, L., "The Hague Conference on Private International Law and the Codification of Private International Law", in: Diego P. Fernández Arroyo, Claudia Lima Marques (eds.), Derecho internacional privado y derecho internacional público: un encuentro necesario = Private International Law and Public International Law: a necessary meeting = Le droit international privé et le droit international public: un rencontre nécessaire, Asunción, Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Economía y Política (CEDEP), 2011, pp. 205-219.
- Basedow, J., "The Hague Conference and the Future of Private International Law: A Jubilee Speech", Rabels Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht = The Rabel Journal of Comparative and International Private Law, 82 (2018), No. 4, pp. 922-943.
- Blanquet-Angulo, A., "Les zones d'ombre de la Convention de La Haye du 2 juillet 2019", Revue internationale de droit comparé, 73 (2021), No. 1, pp. 53-71.
- Bonomi, A. and Mariottini, C.M., "A Game Changer in International Litigation?: Roadmap to the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention", Yearbook of Private International Law, 20 (2020), pp. 537-567.
- Bonomi, A., "Courage or Caution? A Critical Overview of the Hague Preliminary Draft on Judgments", Yearbook of Private International Law, 17 (2017), pp. 1-31.
- Borrás, A., Obra escollida: Premi Puig Salellas, Madrid, Marcial Pons, 2019.
- Bureau Permanent de la Conférence = Permanent Bureau of the Conference, Celebration of the Centenary of the Hague Conference on private international lawCélébration du Centenaire de la Conférence de la Haye de droit international privé, 19 mai 1993, La Haye, Bureau Permanent de la Conférence, 1995.
- Cerqueira, Gustavo Vieira da Costa, "La Conférence de la Haye de droit international privé: une nouvelle voie pour le développement du droit international privé des Organisations régionales d'intégration économique", Revue de droit uniforme, 12 (2007), No. 4, pp. 761-793. [e-article]
- Duncan, W., "Reflections on the Malta Process", in: Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law = Bureau Permanent de la Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé, A commitment to Private International Law: Essays in Honour of Hans van Loon = Un engagement au service du droit international privé: mélanges en l'honneur de Hans van Loon, Cambridge, Intersentia, 2013, pp. 135-142.
- Goddard, D., "The Judgments Convention - The Current State of Play", Duke journal of comparative & international law, 29 (2019), No. 3, pp. 473-490.
- Goicoechea, I. and Loon, H. van, "The Key Role of Judges in the Development of Private International Law: Lessons learned from the Work of The Hague Conference on Private International Law", in: Ruiz Abou-Nigm, V. and Noodt Taquela, M.B., (eds.), Diversity and Integration in Private International Law, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2019, pp. 295-309.
- Jueptner, E., "The Hague Jurisdiction Project - what options for The Hague Conference?", Journal of Private International Law, 16 (2020), No. 2, p. 247-274.
- Khanderia, S., "The Hague Conference on Private International Law's Proposed Draft Text on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Should South Africa Endorse it?" Journal of African law, 63 (2019), No. 3, pp. 413-433.
- Lehmann, M., "Incremental international law-making: The Hague Jurisdiction Project in context", 19 (2023) Journal of Private International Law, No.1, pp. 25-41.
- Loon, H. van, "Embracing Diversity: the Role of the Hague Conference in the Creation of Universal Instruments", in: Ruiz Abou-Nigm, V. and Noodt Taquela, M.B., (eds.), Diversity and Integration in Private International Law, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2019, pp. 31-46.
- Loon, H. van, "The Hague Conference on Private International Law: Asser's Vision and an Evolving Mission", Hague Yearbook of International Law = Annuaire de La Haye de droit international, 24 (2011), pp. 3-10.
- Loon, H. van, "Legal Diversity in a Flat, Crowded World: the Role of the Hague Conference", International Journal of Legal Information: the official publication of the International Association of Law Libraries, 39 (2011), No. 2, pp. 172-185.
- Loon, H. van, Schulz, A., "The European Community and the Hague Conference on Private International Law", in: Bernd Martenczuk and Servaas van Thiel (eds.), Justice, liberty, security: new challenges for EU external relations, Brussels, Brussels University Press, 2008, pp. 257-299.
- Muir Watt, H., "Le droit international privé au service de la géopolitique: les enjeux de la nouvelle Convention de la Haye du 2 juillet 2019 sur la reconnaissance et l'exécution des jugements étrangers en matière civile ou commerciale", Revue critique de droit international privé, 109 (2020), No. 3, pp. 427-448.
- Nagata, M., "Current Status and Issues of Implementing The Hague Child Abduction Convention in Japan", The Japanese yearbook of international law, 63 (2020), pp. 212-233.
- Nielsen, P.A., "The Hague 2019 Judgments Convention - from failure to success?", Journal of Private International Law, 16 (2020), No. 2, pp. 205-246.
- Opertti Badán, D., "The Relationships between Latin America and The Hague Conference regarding the Recent Developments of Private International Law", in: Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law = Bureau Permanent de la Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé, A commitment to Private International Law: Essays in Honour of Hans van Loon = Un engagement au service du droit international privé: mélanges en l'honneur de Hans van Loon, Cambridge, Intersentia, 2013, pp. 421-432.
- Pocar, F., Loon, H. van, "The 120th Anniversary of the Hague Conference on Private International Law", Rivista di diritto internazionale privato e processuale, 50 2014), No. 3, pp. 517-528.
- Polido, F.B.P., "The Judgments Project of the Hague Conference on Private International Law: a Way Forward for a Long-awaited Solution", in: Ruiz Abou-Nigm, V. and Noodt Taquela, M.B., (eds.), Diversity and Integration in Private International Law, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2019, pp. 176-195.
- Stewart, D.P., "The Hague Conference Adopts a New Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters", American journal of international law, 113 (2019), No. 4, pp. 772-783.
- Vlas, P., "On the Development of Private International Law in the Netherlands: from Asser's Days to the Codification of Dutch Private International Law (1910-2010)", Netherlands International Law Review, 57 (2010), No. 2, pp. 167-182. [online article]