The originating proposal

United States of America proposes a new convention on jurisdiction, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

The proposal is novel insofar as it calls for the new convention to harmonise only certain grounds of jurisdiction, allowing each Contracting State to determine other grounds of jurisdiction in accordance with its own law, provided that these grounds are not prohibited by the convention. This model is to be referred to as amixed convention".

Letter from the Department of State to the Permanent Bureau dated 5 May 1992 (copy available online)

Permanent Bureau suggests "simple convention" as starting point

The Permanent Bureau responds to the US proposal by recommending a convention on recognition and enforcement as a starting point for discussions. In its response, the Permanent Bureau acknowledges the lack of success of the Hague Convention of 1 February 1971 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters ("Enforcement Convention") and its Supplementary Protocol, which it attributes to the subsequent success of regional instruments and the unusual and complex form of the Enforcement Convention.

"Some reflections of the Permanent Bureau on a general convention on enforcement of judgments (Prel. Doc. No 17 of May 1992 in Proceedings of the Seventeenth Session (1993), Vol I, 231)

Special Commission on General Affairs and Policy refers proposal to a Working Group for further consideration

"Conclusions of the Special Commission of June 1992 on general affairs and policy of the Conference" (Prel. Doc. No 18 of August 1992 in Proceedings of the Seventeenth Session (1993), Vol I, 245)