The material scope of the Maintenance Regulation, the 2007 Hague Convention and the 2007 Hague Protocol
The Maintenance Regulation applies to “maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity” (Article 1 of the Regulation). The Recital 11 highlights that the term “maintenance obligation” is to be interpreted autonomously.
The material scope of the 2007 Hague Convention is somewhat more complex since the Convention allows for a limitation and extension of the “default” scope defined by Article 2.
The Convention applies to:
- maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship towards a person under the age of 21 years (Article 2(1) a))
- the recognition and enforcement or enforcement of a decision for spousal support when the application is made with a claim for the above child support (Article 2(1) b)), and
- to other spousal support, with the exception of Chapters II and III (Article 2(1) c)).
It is important to note that the provisions of the Convention are to be applied to children regardless of their parents’ marital status (Article 2(4)).
The application of Article 2(1) a) of the Convention can be limited by reservation to maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship towards a person under the age of 18 years (Article 2(2)). On the other hand, by declaration the application of the Convention or parts of the Convention can be extended to any maintenance obligation arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity, including in particular obligations in respect of vulnerable persons (Article 2(3)).