The Promise and Prospects of the 2019 Hague Convention

Sponsored by Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP

On 2 July 2019, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (the “Hague Judgments Convention”) was concluded at the Twenty-Second Diplomatic Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. It was designed as a “sister convention” to the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. Heralded as a true game changer for cross-border dispute resolution, its potential effects have been likened to that of the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958. But will this new convention fulfill the “promise of international law”? This panel will consider: (i) the reasons behind the push for a new multilateral convention to promote mutual recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments; (ii) the objectives and scope of the Hague Judgments Convention; and (iii) its prospects in terms of likely signatories, and the magnitude of its future impact. The previous treaty on this subject – the 1971 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters – only ever garnered a handful of state parties. The panel will discuss the key differences between the two conventions, and the features of the new Hague Judgments Convention that may lead states to sign it (or not).

FEATURING
Riccarda Chanda, Embassy of Switzerland to the United States
Yuko Nishitani, Kyoto University Graduate School of Law
Cara North, Lipman Karas Pty Ltd
Shubha Sastry, U.S. Department of State
Peter D. Trooboff, Covington & Burling LLP (Moderator)
(Speaker organizations are shown as of June 2020)

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