Hague Trust Convention

Hague Trust Convention

Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition
Party (common law)   Party (civil law)   Signatory that did not ratify
Signed	1 July 1985
Location	Netherlands
Effective	1 January 1992
Condition	ratification by 3 states
Parties	14
Depositary	Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
Languages	French and English

The Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition, or Hague Trust Convention is a multilateral treaty developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law on the Law Applicable to Trusts. It concluded on 1 July 1985, entered into force 1 January 1992, and is as of September 2017 ratified by 14 countries. The Convention uses a harmonised definition of a trust, which is the subject of the convention, and sets conflict rules for resolving problems in the choice of the applicable law. The key provisions of the Convention are:

• each party recognises the existence and validity of trusts. However, the Convention only relates to trusts with a written trust instrument. It would not apply trusts which arise (usually in common law jurisdictions) without a written trust instrument.
• the Convention sets out the characteristics of trusts under the convention.
• the Convention sets out clear rules for determining the governing law of trusts with a cross-border element.