HCCH Publishes the Conclusions and Decisions of the 2025 Council on General Affairs and Policy Meeting

Janaína Albuquerque
22 hours ago
2 min read

Updated: 19 hours ago

Following the conclusion of the 2025 annual meeting of the Council on General Affairs and Policy (CGAP) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), the Council's Conclusions and Decisions have now been published.

Below are some of the key developments relating to International Family Law.

Parentage and Surrogacy Project

The CGAP received the Working Group's latest aide-mémoire and approved the organization of one in-person meeting and one virtual meeting before the 2026 CGAP session. These meetings will allow the Working Group to continue drafting the provisions of a potential future HCCH Convention on parentage and surrogacy.

International Child Abduction (1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention)

Brazil will host the Second Forum on Domestic Violence and the Operation of Article 13(1)(b) in October 2025.

The Forum's program will be developed by a Steering Committee committed to ensuring balanced and inclusive participation from a wide range of stakeholders. The meeting may ultimately result in a report to be submitted for consideration at the 2026 CGAP meeting.

International Child Support (2007 Hague Child Support Convention and Protocol)

The Council welcomed the growing number of Contracting Parties to both the 2007 Hague Child Support Convention and its accompanying Protocol, highlighting recent accessions by Latin American States, including Colombia.

To support preparations for the next meeting of the Special Commission, the CGAP approved the circulation of two implementation questionnaires among Contracting Parties.

The mandate of the International Transfer of Maintenance Funds Experts' Group (ITMFEG) was also extended, with a new aide-mémoire to be presented at the 2026 CGAP meeting.

Intercountry Adoption (1993 Hague Adoption Convention)

The CGAP requested that the Permanent Bureau finalize two important guidance documents, with the assistance of a Working Group:

a Note on the Financial Aspects of Intercountry Adoption; and
the Toolkit on Preventing and Addressing Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption.

In addition, as with the 2007 Child Support Convention and its Protocol, questionnaires will be circulated among Contracting Parties to gather information in preparation for the next Special Commission meeting.

Malta Process and International Family Mediation

The CGAP reaffirmed its support for the ongoing work of the Working Party on Mediation within the Malta Process.

The Malta Process serves as an important platform for dialogue and cooperation between States that are Parties to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and States that are not Parties but whose legal systems are influenced by Sharia. Its objective is to strengthen cross-border cooperation in cases involving international child abduction and international family disputes.

The Council also invited participating States to designate national points of contact and welcomed Canada as the new Chair of the Working Party, succeeding the previous representative from Sweden.