SCOPE
Article
1:
The purpose of this Convention is to establish
the law applicable to support obligations and to jurisdiction
and international procedural cooperation when the support
creditor is domiciled or habitually resides in one State
Party and the debtor is domiciled or habitually resides
or has property or income in another State Party.
This
Convention shall apply to child support obligations
owed because of the child's minority and to spousal
support obligations arising from the matrimonial relationship
between spouses or former spouses.
When
signing, ratifying, or acceding to this Convention,
a State may declare that it restricts the scope of the
Convention to child support obligations.
Article
2:
For the purposes of this Convent ion, a child
shall be any person below the age of eighteen years.
However, the benefits of this Convention shall also
apply to those who, having attained that age, continue
to be entitled to support under the applicable Law prescribed
by Articles 6 and 7.
Article
3: When signing, ratifying or acceding to this Convention
or after it has taken effect, a State may declare that
it shall apply to support obligations in favor of other
creditors, and may indicate the degree of kinship or
other legal relationship required by its law for a person
to be a support creditor or debtor.
Article
4: Any person, without regard to nationality, race,
sex, religion, parentage, place of origin, immigration
status or any other distinction, is entitled to receive
support.
Article
5: Decisions rendered pursuant to this Convention
shall be without prejudice to questions of parentage
and family relationships between support creditors and
debtors. Where relevant, however, such decisions may
be used as evidence.
APPLICABLE
LAW
Article
6: Support obligations, as well as the definition
of support creditor and debtor, shall be governed by
whichever of the following laws the competent authority
finds the most favorable to the creditor:
a.
That of the State of domicile or habitual residence
of the creditor;
b.
That of the State of domicile or habitual residence
of the debtor.
Article
7: The applicable law pursuant to Article 6 shall determine:
a.
The amount of support due and the timing of and conditions
for payment ;
b.
Who may bring a support claim on behalf of the creditor;
and
c.
Any other condition necessary for enjoyment of the right
to support.
JURISDICTION
Article
8: At the option of the creditor, support claims
may be heard by the following judicial or administrative
authorities:
a.
Those of the State of domicile or habitual residence
of the creditor;
b.
Those of the State of domicile or habitual residence
of the debtor; or
c.
Those of the State to which the debtor is connected
by personal links such as possessing property, receiving
income or obtaining financial benefits.
Notwithstanding
the provisions of this article, a judicial or administrative
authority of another State shall also have jurisdiction
if the defendant appears before it without challenging
its jurisdiction.
Article
9: Actions to increase the amount of support may
be heard by any of the authorities mentioned in Article
8. Actions to discontinue or reduce support shall be
heard by the authorities of the State that set the amount
of support.
Article
10: Support shall be commensurate with both the
need of the creditor and the financial resources of
the debtor.
Should
a judicial or administrative authority responsible for
enforcing or securing the effectiveness of a judgment
order provisional measures or provide for execution
of judgment in an amount lower than requested, the rights
of the creditor shall not thereby be impaired.
INTERNATIONAL
PROCEDURAL COOPERATION
Article
11: Support orders of one State Party shall be enforced
in other States Parties if they meet the following requirements:
a.
The judicial or administrative authority issuing the
order had jurisdiction under Articles 8 and 9 of this
Convention to hear and decide the matter;
b.
The order and the documents attached thereto required
under this Convention have been duly translated into
the official language of the State in which the order
is to be enforced;
c.
As necessary, the order and the documents attached thereto
have been certified in accordance with the law of the
State in which the order is to be enforced;
d.
They have been certified in accordance with the law
of the State of origin;
e.
The defendant was served with notice or was summoned
to appear in due legal form substantially equivalent
to that established by the law of the State in which
the order is to be enforced;
f.
The parties had the opportunity to present their defense;
g.
The orders are final in the State in which they were
rendered. A pending appeal from such order shall not
delay its enforcement.
Article
12: A request for enforcement of an order shall
include the following;
a.
A certified copy of the order;
b.
Certified copies of the documents needed to prove compliance
with Article 11.e and 11.f;
c.
A certified copy of a document showing that the support
order is final or is being appealed.
Article
13: Compliance with the above requirements shall
be ascertained directly by he competent authority from
which enforcement is sought, which shall proceed summarily,
giving notice to the debtor and, where necessary, to
the appropriate public agency and holding a hearing
without reopening the merits. Should the enforcement
decision be appealable, the appeal shall not suspend
provisional measures or such collection or enforcement
orders as may be in effect.
Article
14: No security of any kind may be required from
the support creditor because of his foreign nationality
or his domicile or habitual residence in another State.
An
in forma pauperis waiver of court costs granted to a
support creditor in the State Party where he brought
his action for support shall be recognized in the State
Party where recognition or enforcement is sought. The
States Parties undertake to provide free legal assistance
to the beneficiaries of such waivers.
Article
15: The judicial or administrative authorities of
the States Parties shall order and carry out, pursuant
to a well-founded request of a party or through the
respective diplomatic agent or consular officer, provisional
or urgent measures that are territorial in nature and
whose purpose is to secure the outcome of a pending
or anticipated support claim.
These
provisions shall apply whatever authorities may have
jurisdiction, so long as the property or income concerned
is to be found within the territory where the action
is brought.
Article
16: The granting of a request for provisional or
precautionary measures shall imply neither recognition
of jurisdiction of the requesting authority nor a commitment
to recognize the validity of, or enforce, a support
order presented for enforcement.
Article
17: Temporary support orders and interlocutory support
judgements, including those rendered by courts hearing
annulment, divorce, separation and similar cases, shall
be enforced by the competent authority, although they
may be subject to appeal in the State where rendered.
Article
18:
Upon signing, ratifying or acceding to the
Convention, a State may declare that its procedural
law will govern jurisdiction of the courts and the proceedings
for recognition of a foreign support order.
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
Article
19: The States Parties shall endeavor to provide,
as far as they are able, temporary support to children
from other States abandoned in their territory.
Article
20:
The States Parties undertake to facilitate
the transfer of funds required for compliance with this
Convention.
Article
21:
The provisions of this Convention may not be
construed in such a way as to restrict the rights of
the support creditor under the law of the forum.
Article
22: The enforcement of foreign judgments or application
of foreign law prescribed by this Convention may be
refused when the requested State Party considers such
enforcement or application manifestly contrary to its
fundamental principles of public policy (order public).
FINAL
PROVISIONS
Article
23: This Convention shall be open for signature
by the Member States of the Organization of American
States.
Article
24: This Convention is subject to ratification.
The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with
the General Secretariat of the Organization of American
States.
Article
25: This Convention shall remain open for accession
by any other State. The instruments of accession shall
be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization
of American States.
Article
26: Each State may, at the time of signature, ratification
or accession, make reservations to this Convention,
provided Chat the reservation concerns one or more specific
provisions and is not incompatible with the purpose
and fundamental objectives of this Convention.
Article
27: If a State has two or more territorial units
in which different systems of law apply in relation
to the matters dealt with in this Convention, it may,
at the time of signature, ratification or accession,
declare that this Convention shall extend to all its
territorial units or only to one or more of them.
Such
declaration may be modified by subsequent declarations,
which shall expressly indicate the territorial unit
or units to which the Convention applies. Such subsequent
declarations shall be transmitted to the General Secretariat
of the Organization of American States, and shall become
effective thirty days after the dace of their receipt.
Article
28: In the case of a State that, with respect to
child support obligations, has two or more systems of
law applicable in different territorial units:
a.
Any reference to the domicile or habitual residence
in that State refers to domicile or habitual residence
in a territorial unit of that State;
b.
Any reference to the law of the State of domicile or
habitual residence refers to the law of the territorial
unit in which the child has its domicile or habitual
residence.
Article
29: Among Member States of the Organization of American
States that are parties to this Convention and to the
Hague Conventions of October 2, 1973 on the recognition
and enforcement of decisions relating to maintenance
obligations and on the law applicable to maintenance
obligations, this Convention shall prevail.
However,
States Parties may enter into bilateral agreements to
give priority to the application of the Hague Conventions
of October 2, 1973.
Article
30: This Convention shall limit neither the provisions
of existing or future bilateral or multilateral conventions
on this subject entered into by the States Parties,
nor the more favorable practices that those States may
observe in this area.
Article
31: This Convention shall enter into force on the
thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the second
instrument of ratification.
For
each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after
the deposit of the second instrument of ratification,
the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day after deposit by such State of its instrument of
ratification or accession.
Article
32:
This Convention shall remain in force indefinitely,
but any of the States Parties may denounce it. The instrument
of denunciation shall be deposited with the General
Secretariat of the Organization of American States.
After one year from the date of deposit of the instrument
of denunciation, the Convention shall no longer be in
force for the denouncing State, but shall remain in
force for the other States Parties.
Article
33:
The original instrument of this Convention,
the English, French, Portuguese and Spanish texts of
which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with
the General Secretariat of the Organization of American
States, which shall forward an authenticated copy of
its text to the Secretariat of the United Nations for
registration and publication in accordance with Article
102 of its Charter. The General Secretariat of the Organization
of American States shall notify the Member States of
the Organization and the States chat have acceded to
the Convention of the signatures, deposits of instruments
of ratification, accession and denunciation, as well
as of reservations, if any. It shall also transmit the
declarations provided for in this Convention.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Plenipotentiaries,
being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments,
have signed this Convention.
DONE AT MONTEVIDEO. EASTERN REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY, this
fifteenth day of July, one thousand nine hundred and
eighty-nine.