Kiri

The Secretary General

Hague Conference on Private International Law www.hcch.net Conférence de La Haye de droit international privé [email protected] Conferencia de La Haya de Derecho Internacional Privado The Hague | Buenos Aires | Hong Kong SAR

For the attention of National Organs of the Member States

Circular No 23(25)

Our Ref.: 20250305SP The Hague, 5 March 2025 Dear Representatives of the National Organ, Pursuant to the proposal of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands dated 5 March 2025, and in accordance with Article 2 of the Statute of the HCCH, I am pleased to open the six- month voting period on the admission of the Republic of Guatemala as a Member of the HCCH. Article 2 of the Statute reads as follows:

1. Members of the Hague Conference on Private International Law are the States which

have already participated in one or more Sessions of the Conference and which accept the present Statute.

2. Any other State, the participation of which is from a juridical point of view of importance for the work of the Conference, may become a Member. The admission of new Member States shall be decided upon by the Governments of the participating States, upon the proposal of one or more of them, by a majority of the votes cast, within a period of six months from the date on which that proposal is submitted to the Governments.

3. The admission shall become effective upon the acceptance of the present Statute by the State concerned.

In accordance with Article 2(2), kindly inform the Permanent Bureau of your Government’s position on the Netherlands’ proposal by 5 September 2025, 5.00 p.m. (CEST), which marks the expiry of the six-month period. Please note that late votes will not be considered.

2 The Republic of Guatemala is currently Party to the following three HCCH Conventions:

• the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (entered into force in September 2017);

• the Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (entered into force in May 2002); and

• the Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (entered into force in March 2003).

Moreover, the Republic of Guatemala has participated in Special Commission meetings of 1993, 2005, 2006, 2011-2012, 2023 relating to Child Abduction, of 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2022 relating to Child Support, of 2005, 2010, 2015, 2022 relating to Adoption, of 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021 relating to Apostille, and also participated in the Diplomatic Session of 2007 relating to the Child Support Convention, as well as to the 2023 and 2024 Councils on General Affairs and Policy. I take this opportunity to recall the HCCH Strategic Plan 2023-2028, which identifies universality and inclusiveness as key strategic elements for the HCCH, and I respectfully encourage Member States to participate in this admission process. Yours sincerely, Christophe Bernasconi Copy for information to the Diplomatic Missions of the Members