Organization of American States Multilateral Treaties

INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON GENERAL RULES OF PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW

The Governments of the Member States of the Organization of American States, desirous of concluding a convention on general rules of private international law, have agreed as follows:

Article 1

Choice of the applicable rule of law governing facts connected with foreign law shall be subject to the provisions of this Convention and other bilateral or multilateral conventions that have been signed or may be signed in the future by the States Parties.

In the absence of an international rule, the States Parties shall apply the conflict rules of their domestic law.

Article 2

Judges and authorities of the States Parties shall enforce the foreign law in the same way as it would be enforced by the judges of the State whose law is applicable, without prejudice to the parties' being able to plead and prove the existence and content of the foreign law invoked.

Article 3

whenever the law of a State Party has institutions or procedures essential for its proper application that are not provided for in the law of another State Party, this State Party may refuse to apply such a law if it does not have any like institutions or procedures.

Article 4

All the appeals provided for in the procedural law of the place where the proceedings are held shall also be admissible for cases in which the law of any of the other States Parties is applicable.

Article 5

The law declared applicable by a convention on private international law may be refused application in the territory of a State Party that considers it manifestly contrary to the principles of its public policy (ordre public).

Article 6

The law of a State Party shall not be applied as foreign law when the basic principles of the law of another State Party have been fraudulently evaded.

The competent authorities of the receiving State shall determine the fraudulent intent of the interested parties.

Article 7

Juridical relationships validly established in a State Party in accordance with all the laws with which they have a connection at the time of their establishment shall be recognized in the other States Parties, provided that they are not contrary to the principles of their public policy (ordre public).

Article 8

Previous, preliminary or incidental issues that may arise from a principal issue need not necessarily be resolved in accordance with the law that governs the principal issue.

Article 9

The different laws that may be applicable to various aspects of one and the same juridical relationship shall be applied harmoniously in order to attain the purposes pursued by each of such laws. Any difficulties that may be caused by their simultaneous application shall be resolved in the light of the requirements of justice in each specific case.

Article 10

This Convention shall be open for signature by the Member States of the Organization of American States.

Article 11

This Convention is subject to ratification. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States.

Article 12

This Convention shall remain open for accession by any other State. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States.

Article 13

Each State may, at the time of signature, ratification, or accession, make reservations to this Convention provided that each reservation concerns one or more specific provisions and is not incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention.

Article 14

This Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day following the date of deposit of the second instrument of ratification.

For each State ratifying or acceding to the Convention after the deposit of the second instrument of ratification, the Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after deposit by such State of its instrument of ratification or accession.

Article 15

If a State Party has two or more territorial units in which different systems of, law apply in relation to the matters dealt with in this Convention, it may, at the time of signature, ratification or accession, declare that this Convention shall extend to all its territorial units or only to one or more of them.

Such declaration may be modified by subsequent declarations, which shall expressly indicate the territorial unit or units to which the Convention applies. Such subsequent declarations shall be transmitted to the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, and shall become effective thirty days after the date of their receipt.

Article 16

This Convention shall remain in force indefinitely, but any of the States Parties may denounce it. The instrument of denunciation shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. After one year from the date of deposit of the instrument of denunciation, the Convention shall no ,longer be in effect for the denouncing State, but shall remain in effect for the other States Parties.

Article 17

The original instrument of this Convention, the English, French, Portuguese ' and Spanish texts of which are equally authentic, shall be deposited with the , General Secretariat of the Organization of American States, which will forward an authenticated copy of its text to the Secretariat of the United Nations for registration tion and publication in accordance with Article 102 of its Charter. The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States shall notify the Member States of that Organization and the States that have acceded to the Convention of the signatures, deposits of instruments of ratification, accession and denunciation as we11 as of reservations, if any. It shall also transmit the declarations referred to in Article 15 of this Convention.

IN witness WHEREOF the undersigned Plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.