Implementation of international agreements Section 1: Implementation of the 1996, 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions
This section amends the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 ("the 1982 Act").
	Section 1(1) inserts a definition of the 1996 Hague Convention into section 1(1) of the 1982 Act, which is the section dealing with interpretation of references to Conventions in that Act. The 1982 Act already contains definitions of the 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions.
	Section 1(2) inserts new sections 3C, 3D and 3E into the 1982 Act, providing for the 1996, 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions respectively to have the force of law in the UK, subject to any reservations and declarations made by the UK. The UK made the declarations to the 1996 Hague Convention which are referred to in new section 3C(2) when it joined that Convention in 2012. The UK acceded to the 2005 Hague Convention, and ratified the 2007 Hague Convention, in September 2020 and made declarations and a reservation to those Conventions in the form already approved by Parliament when those Conventions were laid in Parliament for scrutiny under the CRAG Act 2010 in 2018 (see paragraph 15 above).
	Section 1(3) inserts into the 1982 Act the Schedules set out in Schedules 1 to 4 to this Act, which comprise the text of the three Hague Conventions, and of the declarations which the UK made in 2012 in relation to the 1996 Hague Convention. The Government intends to use the power in section 2 of the Act to amend the 1982 Act to insert Schedules containing the text of the reservation and declarations the UK made in September 2020 in relation to the 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions.
	Section 1(4) introduces Schedule 5 which contains provisions consequential on section 1 of the Act and makes transitional provision.
	Paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 adds the 1996 Hague Convention to the list of Conventions in relation to which the existing rule-making power in section 48 of the 1982 Act may be exercised, as a consequence of the 1982 Act being amended by the Act to insert provisions implementing that Convention. This power already applies in relation to the 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions.
	Paragraph 2 provides for section 4 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to cease to apply to directly effective rights derived from the 1996, 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions. It will not be necessary to rely on these directly effective rights, saved by section 4 of the 2018 Act, once the provisions of section 1(2) of the Act have provided for those Conventions to have the force of law.
	Paragraphs 3 and 4 make consequential amendments to the EU Exit Regulations made in exercise of the powers in section 8 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 in relation to the directly effective treaty rights derived from the 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions. In particular, the amendments revoke the savings provisions in the EU Exit Regulations, and the transitional provisions in the Conventions (which are given legal force by section 1 of the Act) will apply subject to the provisions in Part 2 of Schedule 5 (paragraphs 7 and 8).
	Paragraph 5 makes minor amendments to headings in the 1982 Act.
	Paragraph 6 revokes the Council Decision, adopted by the EU, authorising Member States to join the 1996 Hague Convention. This Council Decision will otherwise be saved in domestic law by section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, but is redundant.
	Paragraphs 7 and 8 provide that the 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions should be treated as coming into force for the UK on the dates when the UK originally became bound by the Conventions as a result of the EU’s accession to them, and as having continued in force since then without interruption. This will ensure, in particular, that in proceedings that take place after the end of the transition period, UK courts will, in accordance with Article 16 of the 2005 Hague Convention, apply the Convention rules to all relevant exclusive choice of court agreements made from 1st October 2015, which designate UK courts as the chosen court. Paragraph 8 ensures that, in maintenance proceedings taking place after the end of the transition period, UK courts will treat the 2007 Hague Convention as having come into force for the UK on 1st August 2014 for the purposes of Article 56 of that Convention.
	Paragraph 9 contains definitions of the 2005 and 2007 Hague Conventions for purposes of Part 2 of Schedule 5.