Cross-border recovery of maintenance in Europe

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in progress

The new Maintenance Regulation and the 2007 Hague Convention have in common that they:

• introduce a system of Central Authority co-operation assisting parties in cross-border maintenance matters,
• regulate access to justice with extensive legal aid provisions (with free legal aid in child support cases) and
• simplify and accelerate recognition and enforcement.

Regarding recognition and enforcement, the Maintenance Regulation, which for all European Union Member States bound by the same applicable law rules even abolishes the exequatur, goes much further than what the States on the international level were able to adopt.
 

Furthermore, the Maintenance Regulation includes direct rules on jurisdiction, a matter not covered by the 2007 Hague Convention. And finally, the Maintenance Regulation includes applicable law rules in that it declares the 2007 Hague Protocol applicable in all Member States bound by this instrument. The Regulation creates a link between the adherence to a uniform conflict of laws regime and the availability of certain privileged “recognition and enforcement”- rules: The exequatur is abolished only for decisions rendered in the Member States bound by the 2007 Hague Protocol (see also Section 1 of Chapter IV of the Maintenance Regulation). For decisions given in other Member States, a separate set of recognition and enforcement rules applies (see also Section 2 of Chapter IV of the Maintenance Regulation).

The 2007 Hague Convention does not contain such a link. The 2007 Hague Convention and the 2007 Hague Protocol stand separately and independently side-by-side.