Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance

Done at New York on 20 June 1956

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 25 May 1957, in accordance with article 14.

REGISTRATION: 25 May 1957, No. 3850.

TEXT: United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 268, p. 3, and vol. 649, p. 330 (procès-verbal of rectification of Spanish authentic text).

STATUS: Signatories: 25. Parties: 56 .

Note: The Convention was adopted and opened for signature by the United Nations Conference on Maintenance Obligations convened pursuant to resolution 572 (XIX) 1 of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, adopted on 17 May 1955. The Conference met at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York from 29 May to 20 June 1956. For the text of the Final Act of the Conference, see United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 268, p. 3.

Participant


Signature	Ratification, accession (a), succession (d)

Algeria 10 Sep 1969 a

Argentina 29 Nov 1972 a

Australia 12 Feb 1985 a

Austria 21 Dec 1956 16 Jul 1969

Barbados 18 Jun 1970 a

Belarus 14 Nov 1996 a

Belgium 1 Jul 1966 a

Bolivia 20 Jun 1956

Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 Sep 1993 d

Brazil 31 Dec 1956 14 Nov 1960

Burkina Faso 27 Aug 1962 a

Cambodia 20 Jun 1956

Cape Verde 13 Sep 1985 a

Central African
Republic 15 Oct 1962 a

Chile 9 Jan 1961 a

China 2

Colombia 16 Jul 1956

Croatia 20 Sep 1993 d

Cuba 20 Jun 1956

Cyprus 8 May 1986 a

Czech Republic3 30 Sep 1993 d

Denmark 28 Dec 1956 22 Jun 1959

Dominican Republic 20 Jun 1956

Ecuador 20 Jun 1956 4 Jun 1974

El Salvador 20 Jun 1956

Estonia 8 Jan 1997 a

Finland 13 Sep 1962 a

France 4 5 Sep 1956 24 Jun 1960

Germany5, 6 20 Jun 1956 20 Jul 1959

Greece 20 Jun 1956 1 Nov 1965

Guatemala 26 Dec 1956 25 Apr 1957

Haiti 21 Dec 1956 12 Feb 1958

Holy See 20 Jun 1956 5 Oct 1964

Hungary 23 Jul 1957 a

Ireland 26 Oct 1995 a

Israel 20 Jun 1956 4 Apr 1957

Italy 1 Aug 1956 28 Jul 1958

Luxembourg 1 Nov 1971 a

Mexico 20 Jun 1956 23 Jul 1992

Monaco 20 Jun 1956 28 Jun 1961

Morocco 18 Mar 1957 a

Netherlands 20 Jun 1956 31 Jul 1962

New Zealand 7 26 Feb 1986 a

Niger 15 Feb 1965 a

Norway 25 Oct 1957 a

Pakistan 14 Jul 1959 a

Philippines 20 Jun 1956 21 Mar 1968

Poland 13 Oct 1960 a

Portugal 25 Jan 1965 a

Romania 10 Apr 1991 a

Slovakia3 28 May 1993 d

Slovenia 6 Jul 1992 d

Spain 6 Oct 1966 a

Sri Lanka 20 Jun 1956 7 Aug 1958

Suriname 12 Oct 1979 a

Sweden 4 Dec 1956 1 Oct 1958

Switzerland 5 Oct 1977 a

the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia 10 Mar 1994 d

Tunisia 16 Oct 1968 a

Turkey 2 Jun 1971 a

United Kingdom 8 13 Mar 1975 a

Uruguay 18 Sep 1995 a

Yugoslavia 31 Dec 1956 29 May 1959

Declarations and Reservations
(Unless otherwise indicated, the declarations and reservations were made upon
ratification, accession or succession. For objections thereto, see hereinafter.)

Algeria

The Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria does not consider itself bound by the provisions of article 16 of the Convention concerning the competence of the International Court of Justice and affirms that the agreement of all the parties concerned is required in each case before a dispute can be brought before the International Court of Justice.

Argentina

(a) The Argentine Republic reserves the right, with respect to article 10 of the Convention, to restrict the application of the expression "highest priority" in the light of the provisions governing exchange controls in Argentina.

(b) In the event that another Contracting Party extends the application of the Convention to territories over which the Argentine Republic exercises sovereignty, such extension shall in no way affect the latter's rights (the reference is to article 12 of the Convention).

(c) The Argentine Government reserves the right not to apply the procedure provided for in article16 of the Convention in any dispute directly or indirectly related to the territories referred to in its declaration concerning article 12.

Australia

Declaration:

"Australia wishes to declare, in accordance with Article 12, that with the exception of the Territory of Norfolk Island, the Convention shall not be applicable to the territories for the International relations of which Australia is responsible."

israel

"Article 5: The Transmitting Agency shall transmit under paragraph 1 any order, final or provisional, and any other judicial act, obtained by the claimant for the payment of maintenance in a competent tribunal of Israel, and, where necessary and possible, the record of the proceedings in which such order was made.

"Article 10: Israel reserves the right:

"a) to take the necessary measures to prevent transfers of funds under this Article for purposes other than the bona fide payment of existing maintenance obligations;

"b) to limit the amounts transferable pursuant to this Article, to a mounts necessary for subsistence."

netherlands

The Government of the Kingdom makes the following reservation with regard to article 1 of the Convention: the recovery of maintenance shall not be facilitated by virtue of this article if, the claimant and the respondent being both in the Netherlands, or, respectively, in Surinam, the Netherlands Antilles or Netherlands New Guinea, and assistance having been granted or similar arrangements made under the Assistance to the Needy Act (Loi sur l'Assistance des Pauvres), no recovery was in general obtained for such assistance from the respondent, having regard to the circumstances of the case in question.

"The Convention has for the time being been ratified for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Europe only. If, in accordance with article 12, the application of the Convention will at any time be extended to the parts of the Kingdom outside Europe, the Secretary-General will be duly notified thereof. In that event the notification will contain such reservation as may be made on behalf of any of these parts of the Kingdom."

sweden 9

Article 1: Sweden reserves the right to reject, where the circumstances of the case under consideration appear to make this necessary, any application for legal support aimed at the recovery of maintenance from a person who entered Sweden as a political refugee.

11 November 1988

Article 9: "Where the proceedings are pending in Sweden, the exemptions in the payment of costs and the facilities provided in paragraph 1 shall be granted only to persons resident in a State Party to the Convention or to any person who would otherwise enjoy such advantages under an agreement concluded with the State of which he is a national."

tunisia

(1) Persons living abroad may only claim the advantages provided for in the Convention when considered non-residents under the exchange regulations in force in Tunisia.

(2) A dispute may only be referred to the International Court of Justice with the agreement of all the parties to the dispute.

Objections
(Unless otherwise indicated, the objections were made
upon ratification, accession or succession.)

CZECH REPUBLIC 3

poland

5 February 1969

The Government of the Polish People's Republic wishes to express its objection, in accordance with article 17, paragraph 1, of the said Convention, to the first two reservations made by the Government of Tunisia in its instrument of accession.

united kingdom

13 March 1975

"With reference to article 17 (1) of the Convention . . . the Government of the United Kingdom [objects] to reservations (b) and (c) made by Argentina in respect of articles 12 and 16 upon accession to the Convention."

SLOVAKIA 3

Territorial Application


Participant Australia	12 Feb 1985	Norfolk Island
France	24 Jun 1960	Comoro Archipelago, French Polynesia, French Somaliland, New Caledonia and Dependencies, St. Pierre and Miquelon
Netherlands 10	12 Aug 1969	Netherlands Antilles

NOTES:

1 Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, Nineteenth Session, Supplement No. 1A (E/2730/Add.1), p. 5.

2 Signed and ratified on behalf of the Republic of China on 4 December 1956 and 25 June 1957 respectively. See note concerning signatures,ratifications, accessions, etc. on behalf of China (note in chapter I.1).

With reference to the above-mentioned accession, communications have been addressed to the Secretary-General by the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Poland on the one hand, and of China on the other hand. The objection made on that occasion by the Government of Poland and the communication from the Government of the Republic of China are identical in essence, mutatis mutandis, to the corresponding communications referred to in note in chapter VI.14.

3 Czechoslovakia had acceded to the Convention on 3 October 1958. Subsequently, on 21 April 1973, Czechoslovakia notified an objection with regard to the reservation made by the Government of Argentina to article 10 of the Convention. For the text of the objection see United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 867, p. 214. See also note in chapter I.2.

4 The instrument of ratification by France contains the following declaration:

(a) That the Convention shall apply to the territories of the French Republic, namely: the metropolitan departments, the departments of Algeria, the departments of the Oases and of Saoura, the departments of Guadeloupe, Guiana, Martinique and Réunion and the Overseas Territories (St. Pierre and Miquelon, French Somaliland, the Comoro Archipelago, New Caledonia and Dependencies and French Polynesia);

(b) That its application may be extended, by subsequent notification, to the other States of the Community or to one or more such States.

5 See note in chapter I.2

6 In a note accompanying the instrument of ratification the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany declared that the Convention also applies to Land Berlin.

With reference to the above-mentioned declaration, communications have been addressed to the Secretary-General by the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the one hand and by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the other hand. The said communications are identical in essence, mutatis mutandis, to those referred to in note in chapter III.3.