This Convention shall apply to maintenance obligations arising from family, kinship, marriage or marriage relationships, including maintenance obligations towards a non-legitimate child.

The Convention only resolacts conflicts of law in relation to maintenance obligations.

Decisions made pursuant to the Convention shall not prejudice the existence of any of the relations referred to in Art. 1.

The law designated by the Convention shall apply independently of any condition of reciprocity, even if it is the law of a non-Contracting State.

The domestic law of the creditor's habitual residence governs the maintenance obligations under s. 1.

In the event of a change in the creditor's ordinary residence, the internal law of the new habitual residence applies as of the time the change occurred.

The common national law applies where the creditor is unable to obtain food from the debtor under the Act referred to in s. 4.

The internal law of the seized authority applies where the creditor is unable to obtain the debtor's food under the laws referred to in s. 4 and 5.

In food relations between collateral and between allies, the debtor may object to the creditor's claim that there is no obligation to the debtor under their common national law or, in the absence of a common nationality, according to the domestic law of His habitual residence.

By way of derogation from art. 4 to 6, the law applied to divorce governs, in the Contracting State in which it is pronounced or recognized, the maintenance obligations between divorced spouses and the review of decisions relating to those obligations.

The preceding paragraph shall also apply to cases of the separation of bodies, invalidity or annulment of marriage.

The right of a public institution to obtain a rebate of the benefit provided to the creditor is subject to the law governing the institution.

The law applicable to the maintenance obligation shall determine in particular:

1.

Whether, to what extent and to whom the creditor can claim food;

2.

Who is allowed to bring the food action and what are the time limits for the action;

3.

The limits of the obligation of the debtor, where the public institution that provided food to the creditor requests the repayment of its benefit.

The application of the law designated by the Convention can only be ruled out if it is manifestly incompatible with public order.

However, even if the applicable law provides otherwise, the needs of the creditor and the debtor's resources must be taken into account in determining the amount of the food supply.

The Convention shall not apply to foodstuffs claimed in a Contracting State for the period prior to its entry into force in that State.

Any Contracting State may, in accordance with Art. 24, reserve the right to apply the Convention only to maintenance obligations:

1.

Between husband and wife

2.

To a person who is less than twenty-one years old and who has not been married.

Any Contracting State may, in accordance with Art. 24, reserve the right not to apply the Convention to maintenance obligations:

1.

Between collateral;

2.

Among allies;

3.

Between divorced spouses, separated from bodies, or whose marriage was declared invalid or annulled, when the decision of divorce, separation, nullity or annulment of marriage was rendered by default in a State in which the defaulting party had not Usual residence.

Any Contracting State may, in accordance with Art. 24, make a reservation under which its authorities will apply its domestic law where the creditor and the debtor have the nationality of that State, and if the debtor has his habitual residence there.

If the law of a State which knows, as regards maintenance obligations, two or more systems of territorial or personal application right, must be taken into account-as in the case of reference to the law of the habitual residence of the The system designated by the rules in force in that State or, failing that, the system with which the persons concerned have the closest links.

A Contracting State in which different territorial units have their own rules of law relating to maintenance obligations is not bound to apply the Convention to conflicts of laws affecting only its territorial units.

The Convention replaces, in the relations between the States Parties thereto, the Convention on the law applicable to maintenance obligations towards children concluded at The Hague on 24 October 1956 ¹ .

However, para. 1 does not apply to the State which, by the reservation provided for in Art. 13, has excluded the application of this Convention in respect of maintenance obligations to a person under the age of twenty-one years and who has not been married.

The Convention shall not derogate from the international instruments to which a Contracting State is or will be a Party and which contain provisions on matters dealt with in this Convention.

The Convention is open for signature by States that were Members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law at its Twelfth Session.

It shall be ratified, accepted or approved and instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval shall be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Any State which has become a Member of the Conference only after the Twelfth Session, or that belongs to the United Nations or a specialized agency thereof, or is a Party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice ¹ , may accede to this Convention after its entry into force under Art. 25, para. 1.

The instrument of accession will be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Any State, at the time of signature, ratification, approval, acceptance or accession, may declare that the Convention shall extend to all the territories it represents on the international level, or to one or more Of them. This declaration shall have effect upon the entry into force of the Convention for that State.

Thereafter, any such extension will be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Any Contracting State which comprises two or more territorial units in which different systems of law apply in respect of maintenance obligations may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, Approval or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all such territorial units or only to one or more of them and may, at any time, amend this declaration by making a new declaration.

These declarations shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and shall expressly indicate the territorial unit to which the Convention applies.

Any State may, no later than at the time of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, make one or more of the reservations provided for in Art. 13 to 15. No other reserves will be permitted.

Any State may also, by notifying an extension of the Convention in accordance with Art. 22, make one or more of these reservations with effects limited to the territories or to some of the territories covered by the extension.

Any Contracting State may, at any time, withdraw a reservation it has made. The withdrawal will be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

The effect of the reservation shall cease on the first day of the third calendar month after the notification referred to in the preceding paragraph.

The Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the third calendar month following the deposit of the third instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval under Art. 20.

Thereafter, the Convention will enter into force:

-

For each signatory State ratifying, accepting or approving subsequently, on the first day of the third calendar month after the deposit of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval;

-

For any acceding State, on the first day of the third calendar month after the deposit of its instrument of accession;

-

For the territories to which the Convention has been extended in accordance with Art. 22, the first day of the third calendar month after the notification referred to in that article.

The Convention shall have a term of five years from the date of its entry into force in accordance with Art. 25, para. 1, even for those States which have subsequently ratified, accepted or approved or acceded to it.

The Convention will be renewed tacitly five years in five years, except denunciation.

The denunciation shall be notified to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands at least six months before the expiry of the five-year period. It may be limited to certain territories to which the Convention applies.

The denunciation shall have effect only in respect of the State which has notified it. The Convention shall remain in force for the other Contracting States.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands shall notify the Member States of the Conference, as well as the States which have acceded in accordance with the provisions of Art. 21:

1.

Signatures, ratifications, acceptances and approvals referred to in s. 20;

2.

The date on which this Convention enters into force in accordance with the provisions of Art. 25;

3.

The memberships referred to in s. 21 and the date on which they will have effect;

4.

The extensions referred to in s. 22 and the date on which they will have effect;

5.

The declarations referred to in s. 23, as well as their amendments and the date on which these declarations and amendments will have effect;

6.

Disclosures referred to in s. 26;

7.

The reserves under s. 13 to 15 and 24 and the withdrawal of reserves under art. 24.

In witness whereof, The undersigned, duly authorized, have signed this Convention.

Done at The Hague, on 2 October 1973, in English and in French, the two texts being equally authentic, in a single copy, which shall be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Netherlands and of which a certified copy shall be furnished, by the way To each member State of the Hague Conference on Private International Law at its Twelfth Session.

(Suivent signatures)