Open Online Conference on Cross-Border Enforcement of Child Support
An online conference titled Cross-Border Enforcement of Child Support: Pros and cons of the different national systems will take place on 28 January 2026, from 3:00 to 5:30 pm (CET). The event is organised by the Child Support Forum, in cooperation with the International Union of Judicial Officers, and is open to all stakeholders involved in cross-border child support recovery.
The conference will address the enforcement of maintenance decisions across borders. Under Article 41 of Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 and Article 32 of the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention, enforcement procedures are governed by the law of the State of enforcement. In practice, however, assessing the prospects of successful cross-border enforcement remains challenging, as it requires detailed knowledge of the enforcement mechanisms of the requested State.
Against this background, the meeting will explore how child support enforcement operates in different national systems, whether maintenance claims benefit from priority treatment, the role of Central Authorities in facilitating ongoing enforcement and the conditions under which children may be exempted from enforcement costs. The discussion will combine an overview of the applicable international legal framework with a comparative analysis of national practices, concluding with a broader reflection on the advantages and drawbacks of the various enforcement models from a legal policy perspective.
The programme of the conference is available here.
Participation is free of charge, but registration is required here.