On the Ratification of the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support and the Protocol on the Law Applicable to Alimony Obligations

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The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 9, 2016 No. 492-V SAM.

 To ratify the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support and the Protocol on the Law Applicable to Alimony Obligations, concluded in The Hague on November 23, 2007, with declarations and reservations in accordance with annexes 1 and 2 to this Law.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

N. NAZARBAYEV

Appendix 1 to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 9, 2016 No. 492-V SAM

Applications to the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support

 The Republic of Kazakhstan, in accordance with article 63 of the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), makes the following statements:

 1) The recognition and enforcement procedure provided for in article 24 of the Convention shall apply to an application for recognition and enforcement of a judgment, regardless of the provisions of article 23 (2) – (11) of the Convention.;

 2) an application for recognition and enforcement of an alimony agreement provided for in article 30 (7) of the Convention may be submitted only through the central authority of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

 3) according to article 44 (1) of the Convention, any applications and related documents of the requesting Member States are accepted for execution in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan if they are accompanied by their translation in Kazakh and (or) Russian, duly certified.

Appendix 2 to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 9, 2016 No. 492-V SAM

Reservation to the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support

 The Republic of Kazakhstan, in accordance with articles 62 and 44 (3) of the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support, refuses to use French in other communications between central authorities. Such other communications are carried out in Kazakh and/or Russian or in English.

CONVENTION ON THE INTERNATIONAL PROCEDURE FOR THE RECOVERY OF CHILD SUPPORT AND OTHER FORMS OF FAMILY SUPPORT THE PREAMBLE

The signatory States to this Convention,

Desiring to improve cooperation between States on the issue of the international procedure for collecting child support and other forms of family support,

Realizing the need to establish an efficient, accessible, fast, efficient, economically feasible, flexible and fair order,

 Striving to take as a basis the best features of the existing Hague Conventions and other international acts, in particular the UN Convention on the Recovery of Alimony Abroad of June 20, 1956,

Desiring to capitalize on advances in technology and create a flexible system that can take advantage of changes and further advances in technology as needed, creating new opportunities.,

 Recalling that, in accordance with articles 3 and 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of November 20, 1989,

 - In all actions with regard to children, the best interests of the child are given priority.,

 - Every child has the right to a standard of living necessary for physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development,

 - the parent(s) or other persons responsible for the child bear primary responsibility for ensuring, within their abilities and financial capabilities, the living conditions necessary for the child's development, and

 - The Participating States shall take all necessary measures, including the conclusion of international treaties, to ensure that the child's maintenance is collected by the parent(s) or other responsible persons, in particular when such persons reside in a State other than the child's State of residence,

Have decided to conclude this Convention and have agreed on its following provisions:

CHAPTER I OBJECTIVES, SCOPE AND BASIC CONCEPTS

Article 1 Purpose

The purpose of this Convention is to ensure an effective international procedure for the recovery of child support and other forms of family support, in particular by:

 (a) The establishment of a universal system of interaction between the authorities of the Contracting States;

b) ensuring the accessibility of applications submitted in relation to decisions on alimony;

d) identify effective measures for the immediate enforcement of alimony decisions.

Article 2 Scope of application

1. This Convention applies:

a) maintenance obligations arising from a parent-child relationship under the age of 21;

 (b) The recognition and enforcement or enforcement of a decision on the maintenance of a spouse, if such an application was filed in conjunction with a claim under subparagraph (a); and

c) with the exception of Chapters II and III, to the maintenance of a spouse.

 2. Any Contracting State may, in accordance with article 62, reserve the right to limit the scope of application of the Convention in accordance with subparagraph (a) to persons under the age of 18. A Contracting State that has made such a reservation does not have the right to require the application of the Convention to persons whose age is excluded by the said reservation.

 3. Any Contracting State may declare, in accordance with article 63, that it extends the application of all or part of the Convention to any obligations arising from family relations, paternity/motherhood, marriage or other kinship relations, including in particular obligations in relation to socially vulnerable persons. Any such declaration creates obligations between two Contracting States only to the extent that their declarations cover the same maintenance obligations and parts of the Convention.

4. The provisions of this Convention apply to children regardless of the marital status of their parents.

Article 3 Basic concepts

For the purposes of this Convention:

(a) "Creditor" means a natural person to whom maintenance is paid or it is assumed that maintenance should be paid;

(b) "Debtor" means an individual who is required to pay or is expected to pay maintenance;

(c) "Legal assistance" means assistance necessary to ensure that applicants become familiar with their rights and how to exercise them, as well as to ensure effective and comprehensive consideration of applications in the territory of the requested State. The methods of providing such assistance may include, if necessary, legal assistance, assistance in reviewing cases with competent authorities, legal representation and exemption from payment of appropriate fees.;

(d) "Written agreement" means an agreement written down in any way that makes the information contained therein available for subsequent reference;

(e) "Maintenance agreement" means a written agreement concerning the payment of maintenance that:

 (i) Has been formally drawn up or registered as a reliable document by an authorized body; or

ii) has been certified, concluded, registered or submitted to an authorized body and may be amended or revised by the authorized body;

(f) "Vulnerable person" means a person who is unable to provide for himself or herself due to disability or health condition.

CHAPTER II ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

Article 4 Appointment of central authorities

 1. A Contracting State shall designate a Central Authority to carry out the functions assigned to such authority by the Convention.

2. Federal States, States with more than one legal system, or States in which autonomous territorial entities exist, have the right to appoint more than one Central Authority and set the limits of their powers to consider cases on the territory or in relation to persons. If more than one Central Authority is appointed, the State shall designate a Central Authority to which a message may be addressed for transmission to the appropriate Central Authority in that State.

 3. The Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law must be notified by a Contracting State at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification or accession or when submitting an application in accordance with Article 61 of the designation of a Central Authority or Central Authorities, his/their contact details, and, if applicable, the limits of his/their powers as defined in paragraph 2. The Contracting States The States undertake to promptly notify the Permanent Bureau of any changes.

Article 5 General functions of Central authorities

The central authorities undertake to:

(a) To cooperate with each other and to enhance cooperation between authorized bodies in their respective States in order to achieve the objectives of the Convention;

(b) To seek solutions, as far as possible, to problems arising in the application of the Convention.

Article 6 Specific functions of Central authorities

 1. The central authorities shall provide assistance with regard to applications under Chapter III, in particular, they will:

 a) to transmit and accept such statements;

(b) To take measures or facilitate the commencement of proceedings in respect of such applications.

2. They take the necessary measures in relation to such statements. -

 a) provide or facilitate the provision of legal assistance, if necessary;

 b) assist in the search for a debtor or creditor;

2. They shall take the necessary measures in relation to such statements. -

 a) provide or facilitate the provision of legal assistance, if necessary;

 b) assist in the search for a debtor or creditor;

c) assist in obtaining the necessary information about the income, or, if necessary, other information about the financial situation of the debtor or creditor, including the discovery of assets;

d) encourage amicable agreements for the purpose of voluntary alimony payments, if necessary through mediation, conciliation or similar procedures;

e) facilitate the regular enforcement of alimony decisions, including all types of arrears;

f) facilitate the collection and timely transfer of alimony;

(g) Facilitate the obtaining of documentary or other evidence;

h) provide assistance in establishing maternity/paternity for the purposes of collecting alimony;

i) initiate proceedings or facilitate the commencement of necessary proceedings for the purpose of imposing preliminary interim measures of a territorial nature and the purpose of which is to ensure the outcome of the alimony application under consideration;

j) facilitate the delivery of documents.

3. The functions of the Central Authority in accordance with this article may, within the limits established by the law of that State, be performed by State bodies or other bodies controlled by the competent authorities of that State. The definition of such State bodies or other bodies, as well as their coordinates and limits of authority, must be communicated by the Contracting State to the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Convention on Private International Law. The Contracting States shall promptly notify the Permanent Bureau of any changes.

 4. Nothing in this article or in article 7 should be interpreted as imposing on the Central Authority the obligation to exercise powers that, according to State law, can be exercised exclusively by judicial authorities.

Article 7 Requests for special measures

 1. The Central Authority may, if there are reasons for this, request another Central Authority to take the measures provided for in Articles 6 (2) (b), (c), (g), (h), (i) and (j), and in cases where the application provided for in Article 10 is not being considered. The requested Central Authority should take appropriate measures if it considers that they are necessary to enable the potential applicant to submit the application provided for in Article 10 or to determine whether such an application is necessary.

2. The Central Authority is also entitled to take special measures at the request of another Central Authority in relation to a case with an international element concerning the recovery of alimony, the application for which is being considered in the requesting State.

Article 8 Expenses of the Central Authority

1. Each Central Authority shall pay at its own expense the costs incurred in connection with the application of this Convention.

 2. The central authority has no right to charge an applicant for the purpose of paying for services provided in accordance with the Convention, except for special expenses related to requests for special measures provided for in article 7.

3. The central authority that received the request does not have the right to cover the cost of the services specified in paragraph 2 without the prior consent of the applicant to provide these services for a fee.

CHAPTER III SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS THROUGH CENTRAL AUTHORITIES

Article 9 Submission of applications through Central authorities

In accordance with this chapter, applications must be submitted to the Central Authority of the requested State, through the Central Authority of the Contracting State in which the applicant resides. For the purposes of this provision, a stay alone is not considered a residence.

Article 10 Accepted applications

1. The following categories of applications should be available to creditors in the requesting State seeking alimony under this Convention:

 a) recognition or recognition and enforcement of the decision;

(b) The enforcement of a judgment rendered or recognized in the requested State;

(c) Making a decision in the requested State in the absence of a decision, including, if necessary, establishing maternity or paternity;

 (d) The rendering of a judgment in the requested State if recognition and enforcement of the judgment is not possible, or when it is refused due to lack of grounds for recognition and enforcement under article 20, or on the grounds specified in article 22 (b) or (e);

 (e) Modification of a decision taken in the requested State;

(f) A change in a decision taken in another State.

2. The following categories of applications should be available in the requesting State to the debtor in respect of whom the alimony payment has been made:

(a) Recognition of the award, or an equivalent procedure leading to suspension or restricting the enforcement of a previous award rendered in the requested State;

(b) Modification of a decision taken in the requested State;

 3. With the exception of the provisions of this Convention, which provide otherwise, the declarations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 must be determined in accordance with the law of the requested State, and the declarations referred to in paragraphs 1 (c) to (f) and 2 (b) and (c) must be subject to the jurisdictional rules of the requested State.

Article 11 Content of statements

 1. All declarations under article 10 must include, at a minimum,:

a) a statement of the substance of the statement or statements;

b) the name and contact details, including the address and date of birth of the applicant;

c) the name and, if known, the address and date of birth of the defendant;

d) the names and dates of birth of the persons for whom alimony is requested;

e) the grounds on which the application is based;

f) if the application is submitted by the creditor, then the information about where the alimony should be sent or transferred electronically;

 (g) With the exception of declarations under articles 10 (1) (a) and (2) (a), any information or document identified by a declaration made by the requested State in accordance with article 63;

h) the name and contact details of the person or unit of the Central Authority of the requesting State responsible for processing the application.

2. If necessary and if it is known, the application must also contain, in particular, information about:

a) the financial position of the creditor;

(b) The debtor's financial position, including the name and address of the debtor's employer, as well as the nature and location of the debtor's assets;

 3. The application must be supplemented with any necessary accompanying information or documentation, including documentation related to the right to receive free legal aid. In the case of applications provided for in article 10 (1) (a) and (2) (a), the application must be supplemented only by the documents specified in article 25.

 4. A declaration in accordance with article 10 may be drawn up in the form recommended and published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

Article 12 Transmission, reception and consideration of applications and cases through Central Authorities

1. The central Authority of the requesting State should assist the applicant by taking measures to ensure that the application is accompanied by all necessary information and documents that, in the opinion of the Central Authority, are necessary for the examination of the application.

 2. The central authority of the requesting State must, if it finds the application to comply with the requirements of the Convention, transmit the application on behalf of and with the consent of the applicant to the Central Authority of the requested State. The application must be accompanied by the transfer form set out in Appendix 1. The central Authority of the requesting State must, at the request of the Central Authority of the requested State, provide a complete copy of any document in accordance with articles 16 (3), 25 (1) (a), (b) and (d) and (3) (b) and 30 (3), certified by the competent authority of the issuing State.

 3. The requested Central Authority must, within six weeks of receiving the application, confirm receipt in the form set out in Annex 2 and inform the Central Authority of the requesting State of the initial measures that have been or will be taken during the examination of the application; it also has the right to request any additional documents and information. During this six-week period, the requested Central Authority must provide the requesting Central Authority with the name and contact details of the person or unit responsible for responding to requests regarding the progress of the application.

4. Within three months from the date of confirmation of receipt, the requested Central Authority must inform the requesting Central Authority of the status of the application.

5. The requesting and requested Central Authorities inform each other about:

a) the person or unit responsible for the specific case;

(b) The course of the examination of the case,

They should also provide timely responses to requests.

6. The central authorities should consider the case as quickly as a comprehensive examination of its circumstances will allow.

7. Central authorities should use the fastest and most effective means of communication at their disposal.

8. The requested Central Authority may refuse to consider an application only if it is obvious that the requirements of the Convention have not been fulfilled. In this case, the Central Authority must promptly inform the requesting Central Authority of the reasons for its refusal.

9. The requested Central Authority may not reject the application solely on the basis of the absence of additional documents or information. However, the requested Central Authority may request the requesting Central Authority to provide these additional documents or information. If the requesting Central Authority fails to comply with this requirement within three months or a longer period specified by the requested Central Authority, the requested Central Authority may decide to suspend consideration of the application. In this case, he/she informs the requesting Central Authority about this decision.

Article 13 Means of communication

Any application filed through the Central Authorities of the Contracting States in accordance with this Chapter, and any document or information attached thereto or provided by the Central Authority, cannot be challenged by the respondent solely because of the means or method of communication resorted to by the relevant Central Authorities.

Article 14 Effective access to procedures

1. The requested State shall provide applicants with effective access to procedures, including enforcement and appeal procedures, that result from applications under this Chapter.

 2. By providing such effective access, the requested State shall provide free legal assistance in accordance with articles 14-17, except as provided for in paragraph 3.

3. The requested State is not obligated to provide such free legal assistance in cases and to the extent that the procedures of that State allow the applicant to conduct the case without resorting to such assistance, and the Central Authority provides such services free of charge as needed.

 4. The right to receive free legal aid should not be reduced in scope compared to the relevant internal affairs.

 5. No collateral, pledge or deposit, whatever they may be called, may be required to ensure payment of costs and expenses incurred in the proceedings under the Convention.

Article 15 Free legal assistance when applying for child support

1. The requested State shall provide free legal assistance in respect of any applications submitted by creditors in accordance with this Chapter concerning maintenance obligations arising from parent-child relationships with respect to persons under the age of 21.

 2. Without regard to paragraph 1, the requested State may, in respect of applications other than those provided for in article 10 (1) (a) and (b) and in cases falling under article 20 (4), refuse to provide free legal aid if it considers that, in substance, the application or any appeal obviously unfounded.

Article 16 Application for permission to use the test for the material resources available to the child

 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 15 (1), a State may, in accordance with article 63, declare that it will provide free legal assistance in respect of all applications other than those provided for in article 10 (1) (a) and (b) and those falling under article 20 (4), after conducting a test aimed at determining the material resources available to the child.

2. At the time of submitting such an application, the State provides information to the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law regarding the methods that will be used to verify the child's financial assets, including the financial criteria that must be met to pass the test.

 3. The application referred to in paragraph 1, addressed to the State that submitted the application referred to in this paragraph, must include a formal confirmation from the applicant indicating that the child's material assets meet the criteria set out in paragraph 2. The requested State may require additional certificates of the child's material assets only if he has reasonable reasons to believe that the information provided by the applicant is not accurate.

 4. In the event that the most favourable legal assistance provided by the law of the requested State in respect of applications defined in this Chapter concerning maintenance obligations arising from parent-child relations is more favourable than that defined in paragraphs 1-3, the most favourable legal assistance should be provided.

Article 17 Statements not covered by articles 15 and 16

 With respect to declarations under this Convention other than those falling under articles 15 or 16:

 a) the provision of free legal aid can be carried out on the basis of a test of the availability of material resources or the substance of the text;

(b) An applicant who has received free legal aid in his State should be able, in any consideration of recognition or enforcement, to avail himself of free legal aid, at least to the same extent as provided for by the law of the requested State in such circumstances.

CHAPTER IV RESTRICTIONS ON THE INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS

Article 18 Restrictions on commencement of proceedings

1. If the decision is made in a Contracting State in which the creditor permanently resides, the procedure for changing the decision or making a new decision may not be initiated by the debtor in any other Contracting State as long as the creditor continues to permanently reside in the State in which the decision was made.

2. Paragraph 1 does not apply if:

(a) With the exception of disputes concerning child support obligations, there is a written agreement between the parties on the jurisdiction of that other Contracting State.;

(b) The creditor either explicitly declares that it is subject to the jurisdiction of that other Contracting State or does not object to jurisdiction at the earliest opportunity, defending itself on the merits of the case.;

 (c) The competent authority of the State in which the decision was rendered is unable or refuses to exercise jurisdiction to change the decision or make a new decision; or

 (d) A decision taken in one State cannot be recognized or is declared unenforceable in the Contracting State in which it is intended to initiate proceedings to amend or adopt a new decision.

CHAPTER V RECOGNITION AND EXECUTION

Article 19 Scope of the Chapter

1. This chapter applies to a decision made by a judicial or administrative authority regarding alimony obligations. The term "resolution" also includes a settlement agreement or an agreement entered into in the presence of or approved by such an authority. The solution may include automatically correlating the obligation with the price level and demanding payment of debts, maintenance or interest for the expired period and determining costs and expenses.

2. If the decision concerns more than just alimony obligations, this Chapter is limited to those parts of the decision that relate to alimony obligations.

3. For the purposes of paragraph 1, "administrative authority" means a public authority whose decisions, according to the legislation of the State in which it is established:

 (a) May be the subject of an appeal or judicial review; and

b) have the same force and effect as the decisions of the judicial authority on the same issue.

 4. This Chapter also applies to alimony agreements in accordance with article 30.

 5. The provisions of this Chapter also apply to a request for recognition and enforcement submitted directly to the competent authority of the requested State in accordance with article 37.

Article 20 Grounds for recognition and enforcement

1. A decision taken in one Contracting State (the "Decision-making State") is subject to recognition and enforcement in other Contracting States if:

(a) The defendant was permanently resident in the issuing State at the time of commencement of the proceedings;

 (b) The defendant acknowledges competence both explicitly and by defending himself on the merits of the case without objecting to competence at the earliest opportunity.;

(d) The child for whom maintenance was determined was permanently resident in the issuing State at the time of commencement of the proceedings, provided that the defendant lived with the child in that State or resided in that State and provided the child with maintenance in that State;

 (e) With the exception of disputes concerning child support obligations, there is a written agreement on competence between the parties; or

f) the decision was taken by the competent authority regarding the position of persons or parental responsibility, except in cases where this competence was based solely on the nationality of one of the parties.

 2. A Contracting State may make a reservation in accordance with article 62 with respect to paragraphs 1 (c), (e) or (f).

3. A Contracting State that has made a reservation in accordance with paragraph 2 shall recognize and implement decisions if, in accordance with its own legislation, its authorities in similar factual circumstances would be competent to make such a decision.

 4. If recognition of the award is not possible as a result of a reservation made in accordance with paragraph 2, and if the debtor has permanent residence in that State, the Contracting State will take all necessary measures to make a decision in favor of the creditor. The preceding sentence does not apply either to direct applications for recognition and performance provided for in article 19 (5) or to applications for payment of maintenance provided for in article 2 (1) (b).

5. The provisions of this Chapter shall also apply to a request for recognition and enforcement submitted directly to the competent authority of the requested State in accordance with article 37.

Article 20 Grounds for recognition and enforcement

1. A decision taken in one Contracting State (the "Decision-making State") is subject to recognition and enforcement in other Contracting States if:

(a) The defendant was permanently resident in the issuing State at the time of commencement of the proceedings;

 (b) The defendant acknowledges competence both explicitly and by defending himself on the merits of the case without objecting to competence at the earliest opportunity.;

 (e) With the exception of disputes concerning child support obligations, there is a written agreement on competence between the parties; or

 2. A Contracting State may make a reservation in accordance with article 62 with respect to paragraphs 1 (c), (e) or (f).

 5. A decision in favor of a child under the age of 18, which cannot be recognized solely because of a reservation in paragraphs 1 (c), (e) or (f), should be recognized as enabling the child to receive alimony in the requested State.

6. A decision is subject to recognition only if it is valid in the State that issued it, and is enforceable only if it can be enforced in the State that issued it.

Article 21 Divisibility and partial recognition and enforcement

 1. If the requested State is unable to recognize or enforce the entire decision, it must recognize or enforce every separable part of the decision that can be recognized or enforced.

2. In all cases, it is possible to file an application for partial recognition or enforcement of the decision.

Article 22 Grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement

1. Recognition or enforcement of a decision may be refused if:

 (a) The recognition and enforcement of the judgment are clearly contrary to the public policy of the requested State;

 b) the decision was obtained as a result of fraud in the procedures;

 (c) Proceedings between the same parties and on the same grounds are conducted in the authority of the requested State in which the proceedings were initiated earlier;

 (d) The decision contradicts a decision taken in respect of the same parties and on the same grounds, either in the requested State or in any other State, provided that the latter decision complies with the requirements of the requested State necessary for recognition and enforcement.;

 (e) The defendant was either not present or was not represented during the proceedings in the issuing State

 (i) If the law of the issuing State provides for notification of the commencement of proceedings and the respondent has not received proper notification of the proceedings and has not had the opportunity to be heard; or

(ii) If the law of the issuing State does not provide for notification of the commencement of proceedings, and the respondent has not received notification of the decision and has not had the opportunity to challenge it or appeal the decision on the merits or law; or

 (f) The decision was taken in violation of article 18.

Article 23 Procedure for filing an application for recognition and enforcement

1. In accordance with the provisions of this Convention, the procedure for recognition and enforcement is governed by the law of the requested State.

 2. If an application for recognition and enforcement of a decision has been submitted through the Central Authorities in accordance with Chapter III, the requested Central Authority must, in a timely manner, either:

 (b) Submit the application to the competent authority, which must immediately declare the decision enforceable or register the decision for enforcement; or

 3. In cases where a request has been made directly to the competent authority of the requested State in accordance with article 19 (5), that authority shall immediately declare the decision enforceable or register the decision for enforcement.

 4. An announcement or registration may be refused only on the grounds set out in article 22 (a). At this stage, neither the applicant nor the defendant have the right to make any objections.

5. The applicant and the respondent must be notified in a timely manner of the announcement or registration made in accordance with paragraphs 2 or 3, or of the refusal in accordance with paragraph 4, and may challenge or appeal the decision on the merits or lawfully.

6. A protest or appeal must be filed within 30 days of notification in accordance with paragraph 5. If the contesting party does not reside in the Contracting State in which the announcement or registration was made or was refused, the protest or appeal must be filed within 60 days from the date of notification.

 7. A protest or appeal can only be based on the following grounds:

 (a) On the grounds of refusal of recognition and enforcement provided for in article 22;

 (b) On grounds of recognition and enforcement in accordance with article 20;

 (c) The authenticity or reliability of any document transmitted in accordance with article 25 (1) (a), (b) or (d) or (3) (b).

8. A protest or appeal on the part of the defendant may also be based on the fact of voluntary payment of arrears to the extent that recognition and enforcement relate to payments already made in the past.

9. The applicant and the respondent must be promptly notified of the decision on the protest or appeal.

 10. Further appeal, if permitted by the law of the requested State, may not cause the suspension of the execution of the decision, except in exceptional circumstances.

11. The competent authority must make timely decisions regarding recognition and enforcement, including any appeals.

Article 24 Alternative procedure for filing an application for recognition and enforcement

 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles 23 (2) to (11), a State may declare in accordance with article 63 that it will apply the recognition and enforcement procedure provided for in this article.

 2. In cases where an application for recognition and enforcement of a decision has been submitted through the Central Authorities in accordance with Chapter III, the requested Central Authority in a timely manner or:

a) submits the application to the competent authority, which will decide on the application for recognition and enforcement; or

b) if he is this competent authority, he makes the specified decision independently.

3. The decision on recognition and enforcement is made by the competent authority after the defendant has been duly and timely notified of the proceedings and both parties have been given a sufficient opportunity to be heard.

 4. The competent authority may consider the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement set out in article 22 (a), (c) and (d) at its sole discretion. He may review any of the grounds listed in articles 20, 22 and 23 (7) (c) at the request of the respondent or if the question regarding these grounds arises from the literal meaning of the documents submitted in accordance with article 25.

5. Refusal of recognition and enforcement may also be based on the fact of voluntary payment of arrears to the extent that recognition and enforcement relate to payments already made in respect of debts payable in the past.

6. Any appeal, if permitted by the law of the requested State, may not cause the suspension of the execution of the decision, except in exceptional circumstances.

7. The competent authority makes timely decisions regarding recognition and enforcement, including any appeals.

Article 25 Documents

 1. The application for recognition and enforcement in accordance with articles 23 or 24 must be accompanied by the following documents:

a) the full text of the decision;

 (b) A document confirming that the decision can be enforced in the issuing State if the decision is taken by an administrative authority, a document confirming that the requirements of article 19 (3) have been fulfilled, except in cases where the State has determined, in accordance with article 57, that the decisions of its administrative authorities will always comply with given requirements;

given requirements;

(c) If the defendant did not appear and was not represented during the proceedings in the issuing State, by a document or documents confirming, respectively, that the defendant was duly notified of the proceedings and had the opportunity to be heard, or that the defendant was duly notified of the decision and had the opportunity to challenge or appeal it in essence and by right;

d) if necessary, a document indicating the amount owed and the date on which this amount was calculated;

e) where necessary, when the decision establishes automatic debt indexing in accordance with the price level, a document containing the information necessary for making the relevant calculations;

(f) If necessary, documentation confirming what kind of free legal aid the applicant received in the issuing State.

 2. When filing a protest or appeal provided for in article 23 (7) (c) or at the request of the competent authority in the requested State, a full copy of the relevant document certified by the competent authority of the issuing State must be provided in a timely manner.:

 (a) The central authority of the requesting State in which the application was filed in accordance with Chapter III;

b) by the applicant, in cases where the request was submitted directly to the competent authority of the requested State.

 3. A Contracting State may, in accordance with article 57, provide:

a) that a full copy of the decision, certified by the competent authority of the issuing State, must be attached to the application;

 (b) The circumstances in which it will adopt, instead of the full text of the decision, an extract or extract from the decision drawn up by the competent authority of the issuing State, which may be presented in a form recommended and published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law; or

 c) that it does not require a document confirming compliance with the requirements of article 19 (3).

Article 26 Procedure for filing an application for recognition

 This Chapter applies mutatis mutandis to an application for recognition of a decision, except that the requirement of applicability is replaced by the requirement of validity in the issuing State.

Article 27 Establishing the facts

Any competent authority of the requested State will recognize the facts established by the authority of the issuing State on which it based its jurisdiction.

Article 28 Prohibition of review of the case on the merits

There should be no substantive review of the decision by any competent authorities of the requested State.

Article 29 The physical presence of the child or the applicant is not required

The physical presence of the child or the applicant in any proceedings in the requested State may not be required in accordance with this Chapter.

Article 30 of the Alimony Agreement

1. An alimony agreement concluded in a Contracting State is subject to recognition and enforcement as a decision provided for in this Chapter, provided that it is enforceable as a decision in the State where it was adopted.

 2. For the purposes of article 10 (1) (a) and (b) and (2) (a), the term "settlement" also includes any alimony agreement.

3. The application for recognition and enforcement of the alimony agreement must be accompanied by the following documents:

(a) The full text of the alimony agreement; and

b) a document confirming that this alimony agreement is enforceable as a decision in the State in which it was drawn up.

4. The recognition and enforcement of an alimony agreement may be refused if:

(a) Recognition and enforcement are clearly contrary to the public policy of the requested State;

b) the alimony agreement was reached through fraud or falsification;

(c) The alimony agreement is contrary to a decision made in respect of the same parties and on the same grounds, either in the requested State or in any other State, provided that the said decision meets the requirements necessary for recognition and enforcement in the requested State.

 5. The provisions of this Chapter, with the exception of articles 20, 22, 23 (7) and 25 (1) and (3), shall apply mutatis mutandis to the recognition and enforcement of maintenance agreements, except that:

 (a) A declaration or registration in accordance with article 23 (2) and (3) may be refused only on the grounds provided for in paragraph 4 (a).;

 (b) The protest or appeal provided for in article 23 (6) may be based only on the following grounds:

 (i) On the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement set out in paragraph 4;

 (ii) The authenticity or reliability of any document transmitted in accordance with paragraph 3;

 (c) With respect to the procedure provided for in article 24 (4), the competent authority may, at its discretion, review the grounds for refusal of recognition and enforcement provided for in paragraph 4 (a) of this article. He may review any of the grounds listed in paragraph 4 of this article, as well as question the authenticity or reliability of any document submitted in accordance with paragraph 3 at the request of the defendant or if the question regarding these grounds arises from the literal meaning of these documents.

6. Proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of an alimony agreement are suspended if a protest concerning the said agreement is pending with the competent authority of a Contracting State.

 7. The State may, in accordance with article 63, declare that an application for recognition and enforcement of an alimony agreement may be submitted only through Central Authorities.

 8. A Contracting State may, in accordance with article 62, reserve the right not to recognize or enforce an alimony agreement.

Article 31 Decisions resulting from the action of preliminary and confirmatory orders

In cases where the decision is made as a result of a joint action of a preliminary order issued in one State and an order from an authority in another State (the "Confirming State") confirming the preliminary order.:

(a) Each of these States should, for the purposes of this Chapter, be considered to be the issuing State;

 (b) The requirements of article 22 (e) are considered fulfilled if the respondent has been duly notified of the proceedings in the confirming State and has had the opportunity to challenge the confirmation of the preliminary order.;

 (c) The requirement of article 20 (6) that the award is enforceable in the issuing State will be satisfied if the award is enforceable in the Confirming State; and

 d) Article 18 may not prevent the commencement of proceedings to change the decision in another State.

CHAPTER VI EXECUTION BY THE REQUESTED STATE

Article 32 Enforcement under domestic law

1. In accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, execution is carried out in accordance with the law of the requested State.

2. The execution must be timely.

 3. In cases where petitions are filed through Central Authorities where the decision has been declared enforceable or registered for execution in accordance with Chapter V, execution is carried out without any additional action on the part of the applicant.

4. All the rules in force in the State that issued the decision regarding the duration of alimony obligations apply.

5. Any restrictions on the period for which arrears may be collected are determined either by the law of the issuing State or by the law of the requested State, whichever law provides for a longer period.

Article 33 Non-discrimination

The requested State must provide at least the same level of methods for cases under this Convention as is provided for internal affairs.

Article 34 Measures for the enforcement of decisions

 1. The Contracting States shall provide in their domestic law for effective measures to enforce the decisions provided for in this Convention.

 2. These measures may include:

a) salary retention;

b) seizure of bank accounts and other sources of income;

c) Deductions from social security payments;

d) collateral or forced sale of property;

e) withholding of reimbursable taxes;

(f) Withholding or seizure of pension payments;

g) transfer of information to the credit service;

h) refusal to issue, suspension or revocation of various licenses (for example, a driver's license);

i) the use of mediation, conciliation, or similar processes to achieve voluntary compliance.

Article 35 Transfer of funds

1. The Contracting States are encouraged to use, including through the conclusion of international agreements, the most cost-effective and efficient methods of transferring funds to be paid as alimony.

 8. The Contracting State whose right restricts the transfer of funds shall give the highest priority to the transfer of funds payable in accordance with this Convention.

CHAPTER VII GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Article 36 State bodies acting as applicants

 1. With respect to applications for recognition and enforcement pursuant to article 10 (1) (a) and (b) and cases provided for in article 20 (4), the term "creditor" includes a public authority acting on behalf of an individual to whom alimony is payable or who is required to pay compensation provided in lieu of alimony.

2. The right of a state body to act on behalf of an individual to whom alimony is payable, or who seeks compensation provided to the creditor in lieu of alimony, is governed by the law of the state body.

3. A government agency may seek recognition or demand execution.:

a) the decision taken in relation to the debtor on the application of the state authority for the payment of benefits provided in lieu of alimony;

b) the decision taken between the creditor and the debtor on the amount of benefits provided to the creditor in lieu of alimony.

 4. The State body seeking recognition or enforcement of the decision must, upon request, provide the necessary documents confirming its right under paragraph 2 and the fact that benefits have been provided to the creditor.

CHAPTER VIII GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 37 Direct requests to the competent authorities

 1. This Convention does not exclude the possibility of resorting to procedures that may be provided for by the domestic law of a Contracting State allowing an individual (applicant) to contact the competent authority of that State directly in a case governed by this Convention, including, in accordance with article 18, the issuance or modification of a decision in order to obtain alimony.

 2. Articles 14 (5) and 17 (b), as well as the provisions of Chapters V, VI, VII and this Chapter, with the exception of articles 40 (2), 42, 43 (3), 45 and 55, apply to a request for recognition and enforcement made directly to the competent authority of a Contracting State.

 3. For the purposes of paragraph 2, article 2 (1) (a) applies to a decision to pay alimony to a vulnerable person over the age provided for in this subparagraph, in cases where such a decision was made before that person reached the specified age and provided for the payment of alimony after reaching that age for health reasons.

Article 38 Protection of personal data

Personal data collected or transmitted in accordance with this Convention should be used only for the purposes for which they were collected or transmitted.

Article 39 Confidentiality

All authorities processing information must ensure confidentiality in accordance with the law of their State.

Article 40 Non-disclosure of information

1. The Authority should not disclose or confirm information collected or transmitted in a declaration in accordance with this Convention if it becomes obvious that this could endanger the health, safety or freedom of an individual.

2. The determination of such a consequence made by one Central Authority should be taken into account by another Central Authority, in particular in cases of domestic violence.

3. Nothing in this Article prevents the collection and transfer of information by or between authorities, as this is necessary to fulfill obligations under this Convention.

Article 41 No requirement for legalization

Neither legalization or similar formalities may be required in the context of this Convention.

Article 42 Power of attorney

The central authority of the requested State may require a power of attorney from the applicant only if it is acting on his/her behalf in court proceedings or before other authorities, or to appoint a representative to perform these functions.

Article 43 Reimbursement of expenses

1. The reimbursement of any expenses incurred in the application of this Convention cannot take precedence over the payment of alimony.

2. The State may collect reimbursement of expenses from the losing party.

 3. For the purposes of filing applications provided for in article 10 (1) (b) for reimbursement of costs from the losing party under paragraph 2, the term "creditor" in article 10 (1) includes the State.

 4. This article does not affect article 8.

Article 44 Language requirements

 1. Any application and related documents must be submitted in the original language and must be accompanied by a translation into the official language of the requested State or another language specified by the requested State in the application filed in accordance with article 63, except in cases where the competent authority of that State permits the absence of a translation.

 2. A Contracting State in whose territory there are several official languages and which, by its domestic law, cannot accept documents in one of them throughout its territories, must, in an application filed in accordance with article 63, specify the language in which the documents or their translations must be drawn up in order to be submitted in certain parts of its territory..

 3. Unless otherwise agreed between the Central Authorities, any other communications between such authorities must be carried out either in the official language of the requested State or in English or French. However, a Contracting State may, by making a reservation in accordance with article 62, waive the use of English or French.

Article 45 Means of translation and costs of translation

 1. In the case of applications provided for in Chapter III, the Central Authorities may agree in a specific case or in general that a translation into the official language of the requested State may be made in the requested State from the original language or from any other agreed language. In the absence of an agreement and if it is impossible for the requesting State to comply with the requirements of articles 44 (1) and (2), the application and related documents may be transmitted with a translation into English or French for further translation into the official language of the requested State.

2. The costs of translation arising from the application of paragraph 1 shall be borne by the requesting State, unless otherwise agreed between the Central Authorities of the States concerned.

 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of article 8, the requesting State may charge the applicant for the costs of translating the application and related documents if these costs cannot be paid under its free legal aid system.

Article 46 Non–unified legal systems - interpretation

1. In relation to a State in whose territory, in different territorial entities, there are two or more legal systems or sets of legal norms relating to any issues provided for in this Convention.:

a) any reference to the law or procedure of a State should be understood accordingly as a reference to the law or procedure in force in the relevant territorial entity;

b) any reference to a decision rendered, recognized, recognized and executed, executed or modified in that State, respectively, is understood as a reference to a decision rendered, recognized, recognized and executed, executed or modified in the relevant territorial entity;

 (c) Any reference to a judicial or administrative authority of the State concerned shall be understood as referring to the judicial or administrative authority of the relevant territorial entity.;

(d) Any reference to the competent authorities, State authorities and other authorities of a given State, with the exception of Central Authorities, is accordingly understood as a reference to those authorities that are authorized to operate in the relevant territorial entity.;

(e) Any reference to a place of residence or permanent residence in a given State shall be understood as a reference to a place of residence or permanent residence in the relevant territorial entity.;

(f) Any reference to the location of the property in that State shall be understood, accordingly, as a reference to the location of the property in the relevant territorial entity;

g) any reference to a mutual agreement in force in a given State is understood, respectively, as a reference to a mutual agreement in force in the relevant territorial entity.;

h) any reference to free legal aid in a given State is understood, respectively, as a reference to free legal aid in the relevant territorial entity;

 i) any reference to an alimony agreement concluded in that State shall be understood as a reference to an alimony agreement concluded in the relevant territorial entity.;

(j) Any reference to reimbursement of expenses by the State is understood, respectively, as a reference to reimbursement of expenses to the respective territorial entities.

2. This article does not apply to a Regional Economic Integration Organization.

Article 47 Non-unified legal systems - substantive legal norms

1. A Contracting State in which there are two or more territorial entities with different legal systems is not obligated to apply this Convention to situations that affect only these territorial entities.

 2. The competent authority in a territorial entity of a Contracting State with two or more territorial entities with different legal systems is not obliged to recognize or enforce a decision of another Contracting State just because that decision was recognized or enforced in another territorial entity of that Contracting State in accordance with this Convention.

 3. This article does not apply to a Regional Economic Integration Organization.

Article 48 Alignment with previous Hague Conventions on alimony obligations

In relations between the Contracting States, this Convention replaces, subject to article 56 (2), the Hague Convention of October 2, 1973 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Maintenance Obligations and the Hague Convention of April 15, 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning maintenance Obligations for children, since The scope of their application coincides with the scope of this Convention.

Article 49 Harmonization with the 1956 New York Convention

In relations between the Contracting States, this Convention replaces the United Nations Convention on the Recovery of Alimony Abroad of June 20, 1956, since the scope of its application between such States coincides with the scope of this Convention.

Article 50 Relation to the previous Hague Conventions on the Service of Documents and the Receipt of Evidence

This Convention does not affect the Hague Convention of March 1, 1954 on civil Procedure, the Hague Convention of November 15, 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters and the Hague Convention of March 18, 1970 on the Receipt Abroad of Evidence in Civil and Commercial Matters.

Article 51 Coordination of acts and additional agreements

1. This Convention does not affect the operation of any international acts concluded prior to this Convention to which Contracting States are Parties and which contain provisions on matters governed by this Convention.

 2. Any Contracting State may conclude agreements with one or more Contracting States containing provisions on matters governed by this Convention aimed at improving the application of this Convention among themselves, providing that these agreements comply with the objectives and objectives of this Convention and such agreements do not affect the application of the provisions of this Convention in relations between the said States and other Contracting States. by States. States that have concluded such agreements must provide copies of them to the Convention's depositary.

 3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 also apply to mutual agreements and to model laws based on special relations between the States concerned.

4. This Convention does not affect the application of acts of a Regional Economic Integration Organization that is a party to this Convention adopted after the conclusion of this Convention on matters governed by this Convention, provided that such acts do not affect the application of the provisions of this Convention between the member States of the Regional Economic Integration Organization and other Contracting States. With regard to the recognition or enforcement of decisions between the Member States of a Regional Economic Integration Organization, this Convention does not affect the norms of a Regional Economic Integration Organization, regardless of whether they were adopted before or after the conclusion of this Convention.

Article 52 is the most effective norm

 1. This Convention does not prevent the application of an agreement, arrangement, or international act in force between the requesting and requested States, or a mutual agreement in force in the requested State, which provide for:

 (a) Broader grounds for recognizing maintenance decisions that are consistent with article 22 (f) of the Convention;

 b) simplified, faster procedures for applications for recognition or recognition and enforcement of alimony decisions;

 (d) Procedures allowing an applicant from the requesting State to submit a request directly to the Central Authority of the requested State.

 2. This Convention does not preclude the application of the law in force in the requested State, which provides for more effective standards than those mentioned in paragraphs 1 (a) to (c). However, with regard to the simplified, faster procedures referred to in paragraph 1 (b), they should be compatible with the protection offered to the parties under articles 23 and 24, in particular with regard to the rights of the parties to timely notification of the proceedings and to be heard, as well as the outcome of any challenges or appeals.

Article 53 Uniform interpretation

In interpreting this Convention, it is necessary to take into account its international character and the need to promote uniformity in its application.

Article 54 Report on the actual operation of this Convention

 1. The Secretary-General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law shall regularly convene a Special Commission for the purpose of reviewing the actual operation of this Convention and encouraging the development of good practice in accordance with the Convention.

2. For the purposes of such review, the Contracting States shall cooperate with the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in collecting information, including statistical data and judicial practice on the actual operation of the Convention.

Article 55 Making changes to the forms

1. The forms attached to this Convention may be amended by a decision of a Special Commission convened by the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, to which all Contracting States and all Members are invited. The notification of changes to the forms for consideration should be included in the agenda.

 2. Amendments approved by the Contracting States present at the meeting of the Special Commission shall enter into force for all Contracting States on the first day of the seventh calendar month from the date of their transmission by the depositary to all Contracting States.

 3. During the period provided for in paragraph 2, any Contracting State may, by written notification addressed to the depositary, make a reservation in respect of the amendments in accordance with article 62. The State making such a reservation is considered to be a State that is not a party to this Convention with respect to such an amendment until the moment of withdrawal of the reservation.

Article 56 Transitional provisions

1. This Convention applies in every case where:

 (a) A request under article 7 or a declaration under Chapter III has been received by the Central Authority of the requested State after the entry into force of this Convention for the requesting State and the requested State;

 (b) A direct request for recognition and enforcement has been received by the competent authority of the requested State after the entry into force of this Convention between the issuing State and the requested State.

 2. With respect to the recognition and enforcement of decisions between Contracting States to this Convention that are also parties to any of the Hague Conventions on Alimony referred to in article 48, if the conditions for recognition and enforcement under this Convention prevent the recognition and enforcement of a decision rendered in a State that made the decision before the entry into force of this Convention for that State which would have been recognized and enforced in accordance with the provisions of the Convention in force at the time of the decision, the provisions of that Convention shall apply.

 3. The requested State, in accordance with this Convention, is not obliged to comply with a decision or an agreement on alimony relating to payments due before the entry into force of this Convention between the State that made the decision and the requested State, with the exception of alimony obligations arising from a parent-child relationship with respect to a person under the age of 21.

Article 57 Regulation on information regarding laws, procedures and services

 1. A Contracting State, at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification or accession or when submitting an application in accordance with article 61 of this Convention, shall provide to the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law:

 a) a description of their laws and procedures regarding maintenance obligations;

 (b) A description of the measures it will take to meet its obligations under article 6;

 d) a description of its own rules and procedures for enforcement, including any restrictions on enforcement, in particular, rules on debtor protection and limitation periods;

 (e) Other special information referred to in article 25 (1) (b) and (3).

 2. The Contracting States may, in the process of fulfilling their obligations in accordance with paragraph 1, use the model form recommended and published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

3. The information is subject to timely updating by the Contracting States.

CHAPTER IX FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 58 Signature, ratification and accession

 1. This Convention is open for signature by the States that were members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law at the time of the twenty-first session and by other States that participated in that session.

 2. It can be ratified, accepted or approved, and the instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval must be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the depositary of the Convention.

 3. Any other State or Regional Economic Integration Organization may accede to the Convention after it enters into force in accordance with article 60 (1).

 4. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the depositary.

5. Such accession shall be effective only in the relations between the acceding State and those Contracting States which have not objected to the accession within 12 months from the date of the notification referred to in Article 65. Such an objection may also be raised by States upon their ratification, acceptance or approval of the Convention after their accession to it. The depositary shall be notified of any such objection.

Article 59 Regional economic integration organizations

 1. A regional economic integration organization, which consists entirely of sovereign States and which has competence in some or all matters governed by this Convention, may also sign, accept, approve or accede to this Convention. In this case, the Regional Economic Integration Organization shall have the rights and obligations of a Contracting State to the extent that it has competence in matters governed by this Convention.

 2. Upon signature, acceptance, approval or accession, the Regional Economic Integration organization shall notify the depositary in writing of matters governed by this Convention, the competence of which has been transferred to the Organization by its Member States. The Organization shall promptly notify the depositary in writing of any changes in its competence specified in the most recent notification made in accordance with this paragraph.

 3. At the time of signature, acceptance, approval or accession, a Regional Economic Integration Organization may declare, in accordance with article 63, that it exercises competence in all matters governed by this Convention and that its Member States, which have transferred competence to the Regional Economic Integration Organization in the relevant matter, will be bound by this Convention by virtue of signature, acceptance, approval or joining an Organization.

 4. For the purposes of the entry into force of this Convention, any document deposited by a Regional Economic Integration Organization will not be counted until the Regional Economic Integration Organization submits an application in accordance with paragraph 3.

 5. Any reference to a "Contracting State" or a "State" in this Convention applies equally to a Regional Economic Integration Organization that is a party to it. Where an application is filed by a Regional Economic Integration Organization in accordance with paragraph 3, any reference to a "Contracting State" or "State" in this Convention shall apply equally to each Member State of the Organization.

Article 60 Entry into force

 1. The Convention shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after the deposit of the second instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval referred to in article 58.

 2. Accordingly, the Convention enters into force.:

 (a) For each State or Regional Economic Integration Organization referred to in article 59 (1) that has ratified, accepted or approved it, on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after the deposit of the instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval;

 (b) For each State or Regional Economic Integration Organization referred to in article 58 (3), on the date of the end of the period during which objections may be raised in accordance with article 58 (5);

 (c) For a territorial entity to which the Convention applies in accordance with article 61, on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after the notification referred to in that article.

Article 61 Declarations on non-unified legal systems

 1. If a State has two or more territorial entities in which different legal systems apply to matters governed by this Convention, it may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, declare in accordance with article 63 that this Convention will apply to all of its territorial entities or only to one or more of them may change this application at any time by submitting another application.

 2. Any such declaration shall be communicated to the depositary and must clearly indicate the territorial entities to which this Convention applies.

 3. If a State does not make a declaration in accordance with this article, this Convention will apply to all territorial entities of such a State.

 4. This article does not apply to the organization of Regional Economic Integration.

Article 62 Reservations

 1. Any Contracting State may, no later than the moment of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at the time of filing a declaration within the meaning of article 61, make one or more reservations provided for in articles 2 (2), 20 (2), 30 (8), 44 (3) and 55 (3). Which ones- or other reservations are not allowed.

 2. Any State may withdraw its reservation at any time. The withdrawal of a reservation must be notified to the depositary.

 3. The reservation becomes invalid on the first day of the third calendar month following the notification referred to in paragraph 2.

 4. Reservations under this article are not retroactive, with the exception of the reservation provided for in article 2 (2).

Article 63 of the Declaration

 1. Declarations referred to in articles 2 (3), 11 (1) g), 16 (1), 24 (1), 30 (7), 44 (1) and (2), 59 (3) and 61 (1), may be made at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, or at any time thereafter, and may be amended or withdrawn at any time.

2. Applications, their changes or reviews are communicated to the depository.

 3. A declaration made at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall enter into force simultaneously with the entry into force of this Convention for the State concerned.

 4. The application submitted subsequently, as well as any amendment or withdrawal of the application, shall enter into force on the first day of the month beginning three months after the date of receipt of the notification by the depositary.

Article 64 Denunciation

 1. A Contracting State may denounce the Convention by sending a written notification to the depositary. Denunciation may be limited to specific territorial entities in States with more than one territorial unit to which the Convention applies.

2. The denunciation takes effect on the first day of the month following the expiration of 12 months from the date on which the notification was received by the depositary. In the event that a longer period for the denunciation to take effect is specified in the notification, the denunciation shall take effect upon the expiration of that longer period following the date on which the notification was received by the depositary.

Article 65 Notification

 The Depositary shall notify the members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and other States and Regional Economic Integration Organizations that have signed, ratified, accepted, approved or acceded in accordance with articles 58 and 59 of the following:

 (a) Signatures, ratifications, acceptances and approvals referred to in articles 58 and 59;

 (b) Accessions and objections raised against accessions referred to in articles 58 (3) and (5) and 59;

 (d) In the declarations referred to in articles 2 (3), ll (l) g), 16 (1), 24 (1), 30 (7), 44 (1) and (2), 59 (3) and 61 (1);

 (e) Agreements referred to in article 51 (2);

 (f) The reservations referred to in the articles 2 (2), 20 (2), 30 (8), 44 (3) and 55 (3), and the revocations referred to in article 62 (2);

 (g) The denunciations referred to in article 64.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Convention.

DONE at The Hague on November 23, 2007, in English and French, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy, which will be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Netherlands, and a certified copy of which will be sent through diplomatic channels to each of the members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law represented at the Twenty-first session, and to all to other States that attended this session.

ANNEX 1 Form of transfer in accordance with Article 12 (2) PRIVACY AND PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION NOTICE

Personal data collected or transmitted in accordance with the Convention should be used only for the purposes for which they were collected or transmitted. Any body that processes such data must ensure its confidentiality, in accordance with the legislation of its state.

An authority may not disclose or confirm information collected or transmitted in accordance with this Convention if it determines that doing so would harm the health, safety or freedom of a person in accordance with Article 40.

The decision on non-disclosure was made by the Central Authority in accordance with Article 40.

1. The Requesting Central Authority

a. Address

b. Phone number

c. Fax machine

d. E-mail

e. Repeat number

2. Contact person in the requesting State

a. Address (if different)

b. Phone number (if different)

c. Fax (if different)

d. E-mail (if different)

e. Language(s)

3. Requested Central Authority ________________________________

Address _____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

4. Personal data of the applicant

a. Last name(s): ___________________________________

b. First name (on): ______________________________________

c. Date of birth: _______________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

a. Name of the State body: __________________________

5. Personal data of the person(s) for whom alimony is requested or there are arrears

The person is the same as the applicant referred to in paragraph 4

i. Last name(s): ___________________________________________

Name(s): ______________________________________________

Date of birth: _____________________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

II. Last name(s): __________________________________________

Name(s): ______________________________________________

Date of birth: ______________________________( dd / mm/ yyyy)

III. Last name(s): __________________________________________

Name(s): _______________________________________________

Date of birth: _____________________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

6. Debtor's personal data1

The person is the same as the applicant named in paragraph 4

b. Last name(s): ___________________________________________________

c. Name(s): ___________________________________________________

d. Date of birth: __________________________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

7. This form refers to the transfer and is accompanied by an attachment in accordance with:

Article 10 (1) (a)

Article 10 (1) (b)

Article 10 (1) (c)

Article 10 (1) (d)

Article 10 (1) (e)

Article 10 (1) (f)

Article 10 (2) (a)

Article 10 (2) (b)

Article 10 (2) (c)

8. The following documents are attached to the application:

 a. For the purposes of the annex in accordance with Article 10 (1) (a), and:

 In accordance with article 25:

Full text of the decision (art. 25 (1)a))

Summary or extract from the decision taken by the competent authority of the State of origin (art. 25 (3) (b)) (if applicable)

A document stating that the decision is enforceable in the State of origin and, in the case of a decision by an administrative authority, a document stating that the requirements set out in article 19 (3) will be fulfilled if that State has not specified, in accordance with article 57, that the decisions of its administrative authorities always meet these requirements (article 25 (1) (b)) or where section 25 (3) (c) applies

If the defendant did not appear and was not represented in the proceedings in the State of origin, the document or supporting documents, except in cases where the defendant was duly notified of the proceedings and had the opportunity to be heard, or was duly notified of the decision and had the opportunity to challenge or appeal it on the merits and lawfully (article 25 (1) c))

If necessary, a document indicating the amount owed and any date on which the settlement was made (article 25 (1) (d))

If necessary, a document containing the information necessary to make the appropriate calculations within the framework of the decision providing for automatic indexing (Article 25 (1) (e))

If necessary, documents confirming the degree of free legal aid that the applicant received in the State of origin (art. 25 (1) (f))

 In accordance with article 30 (3):

Full text of the Convention in relation to food (article 30 (3) (a))

A document confirming that the maintenance agreement is enforceable as a decision of the State of origin (art. 30 (3) (b))

Any other documents attached to the application (for example, if necessary, documents for the purposes of Article 36 (4)):

_______________________________________________________________

 b. For the purposes of the application under Article 10 (1) (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (2) (a), (b) or (c), the number of documents (excluding the forwarding of the form and the application itself) in accordance with Article 11 (3):

Article 10 (1) (b) ______

Article 10 (1) (c) ______

Article 10 (1) (d) ______

Article 10 (1) (e) ______

Article 10 (1) (f) ______

Article 10 (2) (a) ______

Article 10 (2) (b) ______

Article 10 (2) (c) ______

Name: ____________________________ ( In block letters) Date: ____

Last name of the authorized official (dd/mm/yyyy)

persons of the Central Authority

APPENDIX 2 Notification of receipt in accordance with Article 12(3) PRIVACY NOTICE AND PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

Personal data collected or transferred in accordance with the Convention should be used only for the purposes for which they were collected or transferred. Any body that processes such data must ensure its confidentiality, in accordance with the legislation of its state.

The decision on non-disclosure was made by the Central Authority in accordance with article 40.

1. The Requesting Central Authority

a. Address

b. Phone number

c. Fax machine

d. E-mail

e. Repeat number

2. Contact person in the requesting State

a. Address (if different)

b. Phone number (if different)

c. Fax (if different)

d. E-mail (if different)

e. Language(s)

3. Requested Central Authority _______________________________

Contact name ___________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

4. The requested central authority confirms receipt of the form __________________ from (dd /mm / yyyy) a form requesting the transfer of the Central Requesting Authority's form (number _____________; ___________________ date (dd /mm/yyyy)) regarding the application provided for:

Article 10 (1) (a)

Article 10 (1) (b)

Article 10 (1) (c)

Article 10 (1) (d)

Article 10 (1) (e)

Article 10 (1) (f)

Article 10 (2) (a)

Article 10 (2) (b)

Article 10 (2) (c)

Last name of the applicant: ________________________________________________

Last name (of the persons) for whom the request is being made

or are alimony payments due: _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

________________________________________ Name of the debtor:

___________________________________________________________________

5. First steps taken by the requested Central Authority:

The file is complete and is considered

See the attached preliminary status report.

A progress report will follow

Please provide the following information and/or these documents:

_____________________________________________________

The requested Central Authority refuses to process the request, as it is obvious that the requirements of the Convention have not been fulfilled (art. 12 (8)).

 Reasons:

listed in the appendix

will be listed in the following document

The requested Central Authority requests the requesting Central Authority to inform it of any changes in the status of the request.

Full name: _______________ ( in block letters) Date: ________________

Authorized official (dd/mm/yyyy)

persons of the Central Authority

Certified copy of the original

Director of Contracts

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Tupnuskanyn rastalgan koshirmesi

Netherlands Kings

Syrtky Ister Ministerligin

Kelisim Sharrtar Directors

I hereby certify that this translation of the Convention in Kazakh and Russian corresponds to the text of the Convention on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support, done in The Hague on November 23, 2007.

Director of the Department

International law and cooperation

Ministry of Justice

Republic of Kazakhstan

A. Akhmetov

PROTOCOL ON THE LAW APPLICABLE TO ALIMONY OBLIGATIONS THE PREAMBLE

The signatory States to this Protocol,

Desiring to establish general conditions regarding the law applicable to alimony obligations,

Desiring to improve the Hague Convention of October 24, 1956 on the Law Applicable to Child Support Obligations and the Hague Convention of October 2, 1973 on the Law Applicable to maintenance Obligations,

Desiring to create general rules on applicable law that may complement the Hague Convention of November 23, 2007 on the International Procedure for the Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Support,

We decided to conclude a Protocol for this purpose and agreed on the following provisions –

Article 1 Scope of application

 1. This Protocol defines the law applicable to alimony obligations arising from family relations, origin, marriage or kinship, including the alimony obligation for a child, regardless of the marital status of the parents.

2. Decisions taken in the application of this Protocol shall not prejudice the existence of any of the relations referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 2 Universal application

This Protocol applies even if the applicable law is the law of a non-participating State.

Article 3 General rules on applicable law

b. First name (on): ______________________________________

c. Date of birth: _______________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

a. Name of the State body: __________________________

5. Personal data of the person(s) for whom alimony is requested or there are arrears

The person is the same as the applicant referred to in paragraph 4

i. Last name(s): ___________________________________________

Name(s): ______________________________________________

Date of birth: _____________________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

II. Last name(s): __________________________________________

Name(s): ______________________________________________

Date of birth: ______________________________( dd / mm/ yyyy)

III. Last name(s): __________________________________________

Name(s): _______________________________________________

Date of birth: _____________________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

6. Debtor's personal data1

The person is the same as the applicant named in paragraph 4

b. Last name(s): ___________________________________________________

c. Name(s): ___________________________________________________

d. Date of birth: __________________________________ ( dd / mm/ yyyy)

7. This form refers to the transfer and is accompanied by an attachment in accordance with:

Article 10 (1) (a)

Article 10 (1) (b)

Article 10 (1) (c)

Article 10 (1) (d)

Article 10 (1) (e)

Article 10 (1) (f)

Article 10 (2) (a)

Article 10 (2) (b)

Article 10 (2) (c)

8. The following documents are attached to the application:

 a. For the purposes of the annex in accordance with Article 10 (1) (a), and:

 In accordance with article 25:

Full text of the decision (art. 25 (1)a))

Summary or extract from the decision taken by the competent authority of the State of origin (art. 25 (3) (b)) (if applicable)

If necessary, a document indicating the amount owed and any date on which the settlement was made (article 25 (1) (d))

If necessary, a document containing the information necessary to make the appropriate calculations within the framework of the decision providing for automatic indexing (Article 25 (1) (e))

If necessary, documents confirming the degree of free legal aid that the applicant received in the State of origin (art. 25 (1) (f))

 In accordance with article 30 (3):

Full text of the Convention in relation to food (article 30 (3) (a))

A document confirming that the maintenance agreement is enforceable as a decision of the State of origin (art. 30 (3) (b))

Any other documents attached to the application (for example, if necessary, documents for the purposes of Article 36 (4)):

_______________________________________________________________

Article 10 (1) (b) ______

Article 10 (1) (c) ______

Article 10 (1) (d) ______

Article 10 (1) (e) ______

Article 10 (1) (f) ______

Article 10 (2) (a) ______

Article 10 (2) (b) ______

Article 10 (2) (c) ______

Name: ____________________________ ( In block letters) Date: ____

Last name of the authorized official (dd/mm/yyyy)

persons of the Central Authority

APPENDIX 2 Notification of receipt in accordance with Article 12(3) PRIVACY NOTICE AND PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION

The decision on non-disclosure was made by the Central Authority in accordance with article 40.

1. The Requesting Central Authority

a. Address

b. Phone number

c. Fax machine

d. E-mail

e. Repeat number

2. Contact person in the requesting State

a. Address (if different)

b. Phone number (if different)

c. Fax (if different)

d. E-mail (if different)

e. Language(s)

3. Requested Central Authority _______________________________

Contact name ___________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Article 10 (1) (a)

Article 10 (1) (b)

Article 10 (1) (c)

Article 10 (1) (d)

Article 10 (1) (e)

Article 10 (1) (f)

Article 10 (2) (a)

Article 10 (2) (b)

Article 10 (2) (c)

Last name of the applicant: ________________________________________________

Last name (of the persons) for whom the request is being made

or are alimony payments due: _____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

________________________________________ Name of the debtor:

___________________________________________________________________

5. First steps taken by the requested Central Authority:

The file is complete and is considered

See the attached preliminary status report.

A progress report will follow

Please provide the following information and/or these documents:

_____________________________________________________

The requested Central Authority refuses to process the request, as it is obvious that the requirements of the Convention have not been fulfilled (art. 12 (8)).

 Reasons:

listed in the appendix

will be listed in the following document

The requested Central Authority requests the requesting Central Authority to inform it of any changes in the status of the request.

Full name: _______________ ( in block letters) Date: ________________

Authorized official (dd/mm/yyyy)

persons of the Central Authority

Certified copy of the original

Director of Contracts

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Tupnuskanyn rastalgan koshirmesi

Netherlands Kings

Syrtky Ister Ministerligin

Kelisim Sharrtar Directors

Director of the Department

International law and cooperation

Ministry of Justice

Republic of Kazakhstan

A. Akhmetov

PROTOCOL ON THE LAW APPLICABLE TO ALIMONY OBLIGATIONS THE PREAMBLE

The signatory States to this Protocol,

Desiring to establish general conditions regarding the law applicable to alimony obligations,

We decided to conclude a Protocol for this purpose and agreed on the following provisions –

Article 1 Scope of application

2. Decisions taken in the application of this Protocol shall not prejudice the existence of any of the relations referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 2 Universal application

This Protocol applies even if the applicable law is the law of a non-participating State.

Article 3 General rules on applicable law

1. Alimony obligations shall be governed by the law of the State of the creditor's habitual residence, except where otherwise provided in this Protocol.

 2. In the event of a change in the creditor's usual place of residence, the law of the State of the new place of residence shall apply from the moment of the change of residence.

Article 4 Special rules in favor of certain creditors

 1. The following provisions apply in the case of alimony obligations –

 a) parents in relation to their children;

 (b) Persons other than parents, in respect of persons who have not reached the age of 21, with the exception of obligations arising from the relationship referred to in article 5; and

 2. If the creditor is able, by virtue of the right referred to in article 3, to receive alimony from the debtor, then the law of the court is subject to application.

 3. Notwithstanding article 3, if the creditor is within the jurisdiction of the authorities of the State where the debtor has his habitual residence, the law of the court shall apply. However, if the creditor is legally unable to receive alimony from the debtor, then the law of the State of the creditor's habitual residence is applicable.

 4. If, by virtue of the laws referred to in article 3 and paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article, the creditor is unable to receive alimony from the debtor, the law of the State of their common nationality, if any, shall apply.

Article 5 Special rule for spouses and former spouses

 In the case of an alimony obligation between spouses, former spouses or parties to a marriage that has been annulled, article 3 does not apply if one of the parties objects and the law of the other State, in particular the State of their last common residence, has a closer relationship with the marriage. In this case, the law of that other State is applicable.

Article 6 Special protection rule

 In the case of alimony obligations other than those arising from the parent-child relationship and referred to in article 5, the debtor may challenge the creditor's claim on the grounds that there is no such obligation both under the law of the debtor's State of residence and under the law of the State of common nationality of the parties, if any.

Article 7 Definition of the applicable law for the purposes of special proceedings

 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles 3 to 6, the creditor of maintenance obligations and the debtor can only explicitly determine the law of that State as applicable to the maintenance obligation for the purposes of special proceedings in that State.

 2. An indication of the right made prior to the commencement of such proceedings must be in an agreement signed by both parties in writing or recorded on any medium on which the information is available for use in a subsequent reference.

Article 8 Definition of applicable law

 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of articles 3-6, the creditor in maintenance obligations and the debtor may at any time determine one of the following legal regulations as applicable to the maintenance obligation -

 1. The law of any State of which any party is a national at the time of the determination;

 2. the law of the State of residence of any party at the time of the determination;

 3. the law defined by the parties as applicable or actually applied to their property regime;

 4. The law defined by the parties as applicable or actually applied to their divorce or legal separation.

 1. Such an agreement must be in writing or written down on any media so that the information contained therein can be accessed for later reference, and signed by both parties.

 2. Paragraph 1 does not apply to maintenance obligations in respect of a person under the age of 18 or an adult who, due to the deterioration or lack of his or her personal abilities, is unable to protect his or her interests.

 3. Despite the right determined by the parties in accordance with paragraph 1, the question of whether a creditor can waive his or her right to alimony is determined by the law of the State of the creditor's habitual residence at the time of the determination.

 4. If, at the time of the choice, the parties were fully informed and aware of the consequences of their choice, the law determined by the parties shall not apply if its application would lead to manifestly unfair or unjustified consequences for either party.

Article 9 "Permanent residence" instead of "citizenship"

 A State that has the concept of "permanent residence" as a connecting factor in family matters may inform the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law that for cases that arise before their authorities, the word "nationality" in articles 4 and 6 has been replaced by "permanent residence" as defined in that State.

Article 10 Government agencies

The right of a State body to demand compensation for the maintenance provided to the creditor at the place of alimony payment is regulated by the law to which this body is subordinate.

Article 11 Scope of applicable law

 The law applicable to alimony obligations determines inter alia —

a) can the creditor demand alimony, in what amount and from whom;

 1. the amount of debt payment that the creditor may require;

 2. the basis for calculating alimony amounts and indexing;

 3. who has the right to initiate proceedings on alimony obligations, excluding issues of procedural ability and representation in the process;

 4. Time limits or statute of limitations;

 5. the amount of the debtor's maintenance obligation, if the state body requires compensation provided for the creditor at the place of payment of alimony.

Article 12 Exclusion of refoulement

In the Protocol, the term "law" means the law in force in a State other than that provided for by its conflict-of-laws rules.

Article 13 Public order

The application of the law defined in accordance with the Protocol may be refused only if the consequences of its application are clearly contrary to the public policy of the court.

Article 14 Determination of the amount of alimony

Even if the applicable law provides otherwise, the needs of the creditor and the debtor's funds, as well as any compensation provided to the creditor in lieu of periodic maintenance payments, are taken into account when determining the amount of alimony.

Article 15 Non-application of the Protocol to internal conflicts

 1. A Contracting State in which different legal systems or collections of legal norms apply to alimony obligations is not obligated to apply the rules of the Protocol to conflicts exclusively between such different systems or collections of legal norms.

 2. This article does not apply to a Regional Economic Integration Organization.

Article 16 Non–unified legal systems - territorial

 1. In relation to a State in which two or more legal systems or collections of legal norms regarding any issue raised in this Protocol are applied in different territorial units., -

 (a) Any reference to the law of a State is considered, when referring to it, to be the applicable law in the relevant territorial unit.;

 (b) Any reference to the competent or governmental authorities of such a State shall be considered as an indication, where applicable, of those authorized to operate in the relevant territorial unit.;

 (c) Any reference to habitual residence in that State shall be considered as an indication, where applicable, of habitual residence in the relevant territorial unit;

 (d) Any reference to a State in which two persons have common nationality is considered to refer to the territorial unit defined by the law of that State or, in the absence of relevant regulations, to the territorial unit with which the maintenance obligation is most closely linked.;

 (e) Any reference to the State of which the person is a national is considered to refer to the territorial unit defined by the law of that State or, in the absence of relevant regulations, to the territorial unit with which the person is most closely associated.

2. In order to establish the applicable law under the Protocol in respect of a State that has two or more territorial units, each of which has its own legal system or collection of legal norms in respect of cases covered by this Protocol, the following norms shall apply -

 (a) If there are rules in force in such a State indicating the law of which territorial unit is applicable, the law of that unit shall apply.;

 (b) In the absence of such rules, the law of the relevant territorial unit, as defined in paragraph 1, shall apply.

 3. This article should not apply to a Regional Economic Integration Organization.

Article 17 Non-unified legal systems - interpersonal conflicts

In order to establish the applicable law under the Protocol in respect of a State that has two or more legal systems or collections of legal norms applicable to different categories of persons in cases covered by this Protocol, any reference to the law of such a State shall be considered as an indication of the legal system defined by the applicable norms in that State.

Article 18 Alignment with the previous Hague Conventions on alimony obligations

This Protocol replaces, between the Contracting States, the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations of October 2, 1973 and the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations for Children of October 24, 1956.

Article 19 Coordination with other documents

1. This Protocol does not affect any other international instrument to which the Contracting States are parties or intend to become Parties and which contains provisions on matters governed by the Protocol, unless another declaration has been made by the States Parties to such an instrument.

 2. Paragraph 1 also applies to model laws based on special links of a regional or other nature between the States concerned.

Article 20 Uniform interpretation

The interpretation of this Protocol should take into account its international character and the need to promote uniformity in its application.

Article 21 Review of the practical operation of the Protocol

1. The Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law shall, as necessary, convene a Special Commission to review the Practical Application of the Protocol.

2. For such a review, the Contracting States cooperate with the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law to collect judicial practice on the application of the Protocol.

Article 22 Transitional provisions

This Protocol does not apply to maintenance payments required in a Contracting State relating to the period prior to its entry into force in that State.

Article 23 Signature, ratification and accession

 1. This Protocol is open for signature by all States.

 2. This Protocol is subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by the signatory States.

 3. This Protocol is open for accession by all States.

 4. The instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession must be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the depositary of the Protocol.

Article 24 Regional economic integration organizations

 1. A regional economic integration organization, which is formed exclusively by independent States and is competent in some or all of the matters governed by the Protocol, may equally sign, accept, approve or accede to the Protocol. In this case, the regional economic integration organization will have the rights and obligations of a Contracting State, to the extent that the Organization is competent in matters governed by the Protocol.

 2. A regional economic integration organization, at the time of signature, acceptance, approval or accession, must notify the depositary in writing of matters governed by the Protocol in respect of which competence has been transferred to this Organization by its Member States. The Organization must notify the depositary in writing as soon as possible of any changes in its competence as defined in the new notification given pursuant to this paragraph.

 3. At the time of signature, acceptance, approval or accession, a Regional Economic Integration Organization may declare, in accordance with article 28, that it is competent in all matters governed by the Protocol and that Member States that have transferred competence to a Regional Economic Integration Organization in respect of the matter under consideration should be bound by the Protocol to the force of the Organization's signature, acceptance, approval, or affiliation.

 4. For the purposes of the Protocol's entry into force, any document deposited by a Regional Economic Integration Organization should not be taken into account until the Regional Economic Integration Organization makes a declaration in accordance with paragraph 3.

 5. Any reference to a "Contracting State" or "State" in the Protocol applies equally to a Regional Economic Integration Organization that is a Party to it, where possible. When a declaration is made by a Regional Economic Integration Organization in accordance with paragraph 3, any reference to a "Contracting State" or "State" in the Protocol shall apply equally to the member States of the Organization, where possible.

Article 25 Entry into force

 1. The Protocol shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after the deposit of the second instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession referred to in article 23.

 2. After that, the Protocol will enter into force. -

 (a) For each State or Regional Economic Integration Organization referred to in article 24 subsequently ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Protocol, on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after the deposit of their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession;

 (b) For the territorial unit to which the Protocol has been extended in accordance with article 26, on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after notification of the declaration referred to in this article.

Article 26 Declarations on non-unified legal systems

 1. If a State has two or more territorial units in which different legal systems apply to matters governed by this Protocol, it may, at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, declare in accordance with article 28 that the Protocol applies to all of its territorial units or only to one or more of them, and It is possible to change this statement by submitting another statement at any time.

 2. Any such declaration must be brought to the attention of the depositary and must explicitly specify the territorial units in which the Protocol applies.

 3. If a State does not make any declaration in accordance with this article, the Protocol shall apply to all territorial units of that State.

 4. This article does not apply to a Regional Economic Integration Organization.

Article 27 Reservations

No reservations may be made to this Protocol.

Article 28 of the Declaration

 1. The declarations referred to in articles 24 (3) and 26 (1) may be made at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, accession or at any time later, and may be amended or revoked at any time.

 2. The depository must be notified of the applications, changes and reviews.

 3. A declaration made at the time of signature, ratification, acceptance, approval or accession shall enter into force for the State concerned at the same time as this Protocol enters into force for the State concerned.

 4. A declaration made at a subsequent time, and any amendment to the ig and withdrawal of the declaration, shall enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months from the date of receipt of the notification by the depositary.

Article 29 Denunciation

 1. A Contracting State to this Protocol may denounce it by written notification addressed to the depositary. Denunciation may be limited to certain territorial units of a State with multiple legal systems to which the Protocol applies.

 2. The denunciation takes effect on the first day of the month following the expiration of 12 months from the date on which the notification is received by the depositary. In the event that a longer period for denunciation is specified in the notification, the denunciation shall take effect after the expiration of such longer period following the date on which the notification is received by the depositary.

Article 30 Notification

 1. Signatures and ratifications, acceptances, approvals and accessions referred to in articles 23 and 24;

 2. on the date of entry into force of this Protocol in accordance with Article 25;

 3. the declarations referred to in articles 24 (3) and 26 (1);

 4. Denunciations referred to in article 29.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Protocol.

Done at The Hague, November 23, 2007, in English and French, both texts being equally authentic, in a single copy, which will be deposited in the archives of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and a certified copy of which will be sent through diplomatic channels to each member of the Hague Conference on Private International Law represented at the Twenty-first session, and to all other States that participated in the session.

Certified copy of the original

Director of Contracts

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Tupnuskanyn rastalgan koshirmesi

I hereby certify that this translation of the Protocol in Kazakh and Russian corresponds to the text of the Protocol on the law applicable to alimony obligations.

Director of the Department

International law and cooperation

Ministry of Justice

Republic of Kazakhstan

A. Akhmetov

 RCPI's note!  The text of the Convention and Protocol in English and French is attached.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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