HCCH Conventions and Other Instruments
Official resources for family law, judicial cooperation and other areas of private international law, with a separate historical section.
This directory provides a route to the HCCH’s official materials on its conventions and other instruments. It retains the subjects covered in the original compilation and groups them as core instruments, other instruments and historical texts. Each linked title opens the corresponding specialised section or instrument text on the HCCH website.
Inclusion in this catalogue does not establish that an instrument is in force for Brazil, the other State concerned or the particular dispute. The instrument’s text, status table, applicable dates, territorial scope, reservations, declarations and any required acceptance of accession must be examined before relying on it. An instrument’s adoption year is different from its entry into force for a given State.
Core conventions and instruments
The following group follows the HCCH’s current core-instrument classification. Use the official section to locate the text, status information and practical resources relevant to the instrument.
| Convention / instrument | Year |
|---|---|
| Form of Wills Convention | 1961 |
| Apostille Convention | 1961 |
| Service Convention | 1965 |
| Divorce Convention | 1970 |
| Evidence Convention | 1970 |
| Child Abduction Convention | 1980 |
| Access to Justice Convention | 1980 |
| Trusts Convention | 1985 |
| Adoption Convention | 1993 |
| Child Protection Convention | 1996 |
| Protection of Adults Convention | 2000 |
| Securities Convention | 2006 |
| Choice of Court Convention | 2005 |
| Child Support Convention | 2007 |
| Maintenance Obligations Protocol | 2007 |
| Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts | 2015 |
| Judgments Convention | 2019 |
Other conventions and instruments
These instruments address additional subjects or earlier treaty frameworks. Similar titles do not make them interchangeable: the year, exact instrument and relationship between the relevant States must be identified.
| Convention / instrument | Year |
|---|---|
| Civil Procedure Convention | 1954 |
| International Sales of Goods | 1955 |
| Transfer of Title in Sales | 1958 |
| Jurisdiction of Selected Forum | 1958 |
| Nationality vs Domicile | 1955 |
| Legal Personality of Companies | 1956 |
| Maintenance Obligations (Children) | 1956 |
| Enforcement of Child Maintenance | 1958 |
| Protection of Infants | 1961 |
| Adoption (Jurisdiction) | 1965 |
| Choice of Court (1965) | 1965 |
| Foreign Judgments | 1971 |
| Supplementary Protocol (1971) | 1971 |
| Traffic Accidents | 1971 |
| Estates of Deceased Persons | 1973 |
| Products Liability | 1973 |
| Maintenance Decisions | 1973 |
| Law Applicable to Maintenance | 1973 |
| Matrimonial Property Regimes | 1978 |
| Validity of Marriages | 1978 |
| Law Applicable to Agency | 1978 |
| Sale of Goods (Contracts) | 1986 |
| Succession (Deceased Persons) | 1989 |
Historical conventions and instruments
The HCCH identifies the following as old conventions and instruments, replaced wholly or partly by more modern texts. They remain useful for historical research and for identifying earlier treaty relationships; their presence here is not a statement of current applicability.
| Convention / instrument | Year |
|---|---|
| Civil Procedure Convention (1896) | 1896 |
| Additional Protocol to the 1896 Civil Procedure Convention | 1897 |
| 1902 Marriage Convention | 1902 |
| 1902 Divorce Convention | 1902 |
| 1902 Guardianship Convention | 1902 |
| 1905 Civil Procedure Convention | 1905 |
| 1905 Effects of Marriage Convention | 1905 |
| 1905 Deprivation of Civil Rights Convention | 1905 |
| 1931 Protocol (PCIJ Jurisdiction) | 1931 |
Using the directory for a Brazil-related matter
Begin with the legal task: return of a child, custody protection, maintenance recovery, service abroad, evidence, recognition of a judgment or authentication of a public document. Identify the potentially relevant instrument and then verify its operation between the States concerned. Membership of the HCCH alone does not establish participation in every convention.
For a child-abduction matter, the 1980 Convention’s treaty relationship must be checked for the countries and date involved, including the accession mechanism in Article 38 where relevant. The presence of the 1996 Child Protection Convention or a maintenance instrument in the same directory does not make it an alternative source of jurisdiction or enforcement without its own applicability analysis.
After the treaty position is established, check the competent authority, prescribed forms, language requirements and the applicable domestic procedure. For historical research, record the exact version and date consulted so that an earlier instrument is not inadvertently cited as the present governing framework.