The 1971 and 2019 Hague Judgments Conventions: Compared and Whether China Would Change Its Attitude Towards The Hague

Abstract

Abstract Under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, decades of endeavours brought about the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, being the newest achievement and a milestone. Serving the basic modern values of promoting access to justice and facilitating multilateral trade, the 2019 Convention reflects the global trend and maximizes the common grounds countries could agree to. As a historical culmination, the 2019 Convention refers to the experience of the past Hague conventions, in particular the 1971 Convention. On the one hand, the 2019 Convention duplicates the 1971 Convention in significant respects, maintaining its virtues; on the other hand, novelties are created to avoid the failures shadowing the 1971 Convention. Overall, the 2019 Convention is acceptable though it falls short of some long-lasting expectations. Recent years have seen China’s efforts to promote transboundary movement of judgments and its contribution to the arrival of the 2019 Convention. As an important global player with increasing ambition of claiming more international presence, the Convention is expected to fare well in China.