Hague Judgments Convention in Force for Uruguay

The Hague Judgments Convention of 2 July 2019 entered into force for Uruguay on 1 October 2024. Uruguay had ratified it on 1 September 2023.

As a result, the Judgments Convention is currently in force for 28 States and one Regional Organization of Economic Integration, namely the European Union. Specifically, the States bound by the Convention are the Member States of the EU (with the exception of Denmark), by virtue of the fact that the EU itself became a party (under a decision that has no effects on Denmark), Ukraine and now, as said, Uruguay.

The United Kingdom, too, ratified the Convention, albeit only with respect to England and Wales (as permitted by Article 25). The Convention, however, will only enter into force for the UK on 1 July 2025, that is, as specified by Article 28(2), on the first day of the month following the expiration of the period during which notifications may be made in accordance with Article 29(2) with respect to the UK (the notifications in question are statements whereby a Contracting State may inform the depositary that the ratification of another State “shall not have the effect of establishing relations between the two States pursuant to this Convention”). For a broader analysis of the decision of the UK to join the Convention, see the posts by Ugliesa Grusic on this blog, here and here.

Various States have signed the Convention, but have failed, so far, to express their consent to be bound by it. These include Albania (the latest to sign, on 12 September 2024), Costa Rica, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia and the US.