Bolivia, Costa Rica, Singapore and Viet Nam: Hague Conventions enter into force
On 1 October 2016, the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (Service Convention) entered into force for the Republic of Costa Rica and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. On that same day, the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (Child Abduction Convention) entered into force for the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and the Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (Choice of Court Convention) entered into force for the Republic of Singapore.
1965 Service Convention - Costa Rica and Viet Nam
Both Costa Rica and Viet Nam acceded to the Service Convention on 16 March 2016, during the annual meeting of the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference, becoming the 70th and 71st Contracting States to the Convention, respectively.
Costa Rica has been a Member of the Hague Conference since 27 January 2011 and is already party to five other Hague Conventions (Apostille Convention, Evidence Convention, Child Abduction Convention, Access to Justice Convention, Intercountry Adoption Convention).
Viet Nam is also a Member of the Hague Conference, having joined on 10 April 2013, and is party to one other Convention (Intercountry Adoption Convention).
More information, including the contact details of the Central Authorities designated by both Costa Rica and Viet Nam, is available on the Service Section of the Hague Conference website, at the following link: <https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/specialised-sections/service>.
1980 Child Abduction Convention - Bolivia
On 13 July 2016, Bolivia acceded to the Child Abduction Convention, at which point it became the 95th Contracting State to the Convention.
While Bolivia is not a Member of the Hague Conference, it is now a party to two Conventions of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the other one being the Intercountry Adoption Convention.
More information is available on the Child Abduction Section of the Hague Conference website, at the following link: <https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/specialised-sections/child-abduction>.
2005 Choice of Court Convention - Singapore
On 2 June 2016, during the Special Commission on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments, Singapore ratified the Choice of Court Convention, becoming the 30th Contracting State/REIO and the first Asian State to join the Convention.
Singapore has been a Member of the Hague Conference since April 2014 and the 2005 Choice of Court Convention is the third instrument of the Hague Conference to which Singapore becomes a party, with Singapore already being a Contacting State to the Evidence Convention and the Child Abduction Convention.
More information about the Choice of Court Convention is available on the Choice of Court Section of the Hague Conference website, at the following link: <https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/specialised-sections/choice-of-court>.