The Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (International Child Support Convention) and the Protocol of 23 November 2007 on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations (Maintenance Obligations Protocol) work together.
We often refer to this Hague Convention as the Hague Maintenance Convention or Hague Child Support Convention. It’s a multilateral treaty designed to streamline the process of recovering child support and other forms of family maintenance across international borders.
Purpose and Scope
The Convention aims to create a modern, efficient, and accessible international system for recovering child support and other family maintenance across borders.
The Convention establishes a system of administrative cooperation between the Central Authorities of each participating country to facilitate the assertion and enforcement of maintenance entitlements globally.
How it works
Each participating country designates a Central Authority responsible for handling requests under the Convention.
A person seeking to enforce a child support or maintenance order across borders files a request with the Central Authority in their country of residence.
The requesting Central Authority then transmits the request and supporting documents to the Central Authority in the country where the non-custodial parent or debtor resides.
The receiving Central Authority in the debtor’s country is obligated to take steps to enforce the order, using methods at least as effective as those used for domestic cases. This may include wage garnishment.
Key elements
The Convention prioritizes the recognition and enforcement of existing maintenance orders, rather than reopening the merits of the original decision.
It requires the receiving country to provide assistance with the application process, often at no cost to the requester, particularly for US citizens seeking assistance with child support enforcement in other contracting countries.
The Convention explicitly recognizes the right of public bodies to seek recognition or claim enforcement of decisions where they have provided benefits in place of maintenance owed to an individual.
Benefits
The Convention makes it easier to recover child support payments from a non-custodial parent living abroad, promoting the establishment, recognition, and enforcement of child support obligations in international cases.
It offers significant benefits to individuals and families who rely on its rules to obtain and enforce family maintenance decisions across borders.
It increases cooperation between countries and establishes efficient procedures for processing international child support cases.
The Hague Maintenance Convention plays a crucial role in ensuring that child support and maintenance obligations are honored, even when families are separated by international borders.
The Child Support Section of the HCCH (Hague Conference on Private International Law) contains the latest information about the Child Support Convention.
This includes:
- Text of the Convention
- Status table of Contracting Parties
- List of Central Authorities and practical information (incl. Country Profiles)
- Explanatory Report on the Child Support Convention
- Guides to Good Practice
- An Implementation Checklist
- Mandatory and Recommended Model Forms
- Information on iSupport
Countries that are Signatories to this Hague Convention.
See: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=131
Text of the Convention.
https://assets.hcch.net/docs/14e71887-0090-47a3-9c49-d438eb601b47.pdf
Outline of the Convention.
https://assets.hcch.net/docs/70cda9de-283c-4892-80ec-292daec4f667.pdf
Key Language within the Protocol states:
Article 34
Enforcement measures
(1) Contracting States shall make available in internal law effective measures to enforce decisions under this Convention.
(2) Such measures may include –
a) wage withholding;
b) garnishment from bank accounts and other sources;
c) deductions from social security payments;
d) lien on or forced sale of property;
e) tax refund withholding;
f) withholding or attachment of pension benefits;
g) credit bureau reporting;
h) denial, suspension or revocation of various licenses (for example, driving licenses);
i) the use of mediation, conciliation or similar processes to bring about voluntary compliance.
Article 35
Transfer of funds
(1) Contracting States are encouraged to promote, including by means of international agreements, the use of the most cost-effective and efficient methods available to transfer funds
payable as maintenance.
(2) A Contracting State, under whose law the transfer of funds is restricted, shall accord the highest priority to the transfer of funds payable under this Convention.
