1956 UN Maintenance Convention
The purpose of the UN Convention of 1956 is to facilitate the assertion of a maintenance claim that one person (entitled person) who is in the territory of one contracting party can raise against another person (obligated person) who is subject to the jurisdiction of another contracting party can believe.
General
In the course of the UN Convention of June 20, 1956 and "in view of the urgency of finding a solution to the humanitarian problem arising from the situation of needy people who are dependent on people abroad for their maintenance", receiving and transmission centers are created which correspond to each other. With effect from January 1, 2008, the task of the receiving agency was transferred from the Federal Office of Administration , while that of the transmitting agency was transferred from the state justice administration to the Federal Office of Justice .
Task of the Federal Office of Justice
It is the task of the Federal Office of Justice to support the dependents in enforcing their claims. The Federal Office of Justice acts both as a transmitting agency and a receiving agency. A prerequisite for proceedings under the UN Convention is always that the parties live in different contracting states.
Receiving center
As a receiving agency, it supports dependent persons living abroad in the judicial and extrajudicial assertion and enforcement of their claims against persons liable for maintenance living in the Federal Republic of Germany . This is in accordance with the assignment of duties as a party representative of the maintenance creditors as regulated in the Convention. The prerequisite is that the dependents live in one of the currently 67 contracting states and the maintenance debtors in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The dependents living abroad cannot, however, contact the Federal Office of Justice directly, but have to submit their application to the responsible agency of the relevant contracting state.
Transmitting agency
As a transmission agency, the Federal Office of Justice helps dependents living in the Federal Republic of Germany to pursue their claims against persons liable for maintenance who are in another signatory to the Convention.
Here, too, the application does not have to be submitted directly to the Federal Office of Justice, but to the local court responsible for the place of residence of the dependent. After the court has checked the chances of success of the application, it forwards it with the required translations and certificates to the Federal Office of Justice, which forwards the application to the competent authority abroad if it is complete.
request
The Federal Office of Justice processes outgoing and incoming requests. The transmitting or receiving agencies do not charge any fees for their activities that they perform on the basis of this Convention.
Outgoing requests
The Federal Office of Justice forwards outgoing requests to the competent foreign receiving agency and conducts the correspondence in the further course of the procedure. The UN Convention does not provide for direct contact between the dependents and the foreign receiving centers.
Any natural person is entitled to apply. An application by government bodies, for example to claim advance maintenance payments, is not provided for on the basis of the UN Convention.
The application is not submitted to the Federal Office of Justice, but to the local court responsible for the person making the application . This informs and advises on the application. The involvement of other government agencies, such as B. the youth welfare office is not required. Alternatively, the German Institute for Youth Welfare and Family Law e. V. (DIJuF). However, in contrast to the work of the Federal Office of Justice, its activities are associated with costs that are to be borne by the applicants.
After examining the prospect of success of the application, the local court forwards it with the necessary translations and certificates to the Federal Office of Justice, which forwards the application to the competent authority abroad.
The application must contain:
- a fully completed application
- a power of attorney for the relevant receiving office abroad
- a birth certificate for the child if it is child support
- a bank account for the subsequent forwarding of the maintenance payments
- all existing maintenance titles in an enforceable copy
- Proof of service of the document initiating the procedure on the person liable for maintenance (for requests in EU member states):
Certificate according to Art. 54/58 Brussels I - VO)
- the legal aid decision (if any)
An application is also possible without a domestic maintenance title. This is then obtained from the foreign receiving agency in the respective country. If a maintenance title exists and the application is to be sent to a member state of the European Union, the possibility should be examined whether a certificate as a European enforcement order can be issued for this member state. The certificate is usually issued by the body ( court , notary , authority ) that issued the maintenance decision or that can issue an enforceable copy. If the certificate is available, this facilitates the collection of the maintenance, since the title can be directly enforced abroad without an enforceability declaration procedure.
After the request has been forwarded to the foreign receiving agency, it will take all appropriate steps to enforce the maintenance claim. The procedures differ from state to state. This can include, for example, determining the address of the respondent. However, it should be noted here that determining the place of residence is not unproblematic in every contracting state. It is therefore advisable to include all information about your stay, no matter how vague, with your application.
If necessary, the receiving agency can carry out investigations into the economic circumstances of the respondent in order to be able to determine the ability to pay maintenance payments. The fundamental ability of a respondent is determined by the law of the requested state. The law of the state in which the enforcement takes place also applies to enforcement, which sometimes leads to seizure possibilities and limits that differ from the German understanding . A friendly solution without foreclosure may first be worked towards . The Federal Office of Justice has no influence on which specific measures are taken to enforce maintenance abroad.
Applicants bear the cost risk for any litigation abroad. However, there are various ways of obtaining legal aid in the requested state . A general statement cannot be made here, as the legal bases are regulated in the autonomous law of the requested state, unless either intergovernmental agreements or European law intervene.
For example, Article 50 of the Brussels I Regulation requires the most favorable treatment of the maintenance beneficiaries for the recognition procedure, which the enforcement member state knows in its national legal aid or legal cost exemption regulations. The prerequisite is that legal aid has already been granted in the Member State of origin. A similar provision can be found in Article 15 HUVÜ. Furthermore, Article 44 of the Lugano Convention should be mentioned, which also grants the most favorable treatment for the executing state. The foreign receiving office will provide information on the respective options. If the information provided by the applicant does not provide a sufficient basis for the automatic approval of legal aid, they will initiate a new legal costs approval procedure.
Incoming requests
In the context of incoming requests under the UN Convention, the Federal Office of Justice acts as an agent for applicants located abroad. As the receiving agency, the Federal Office of Justice takes all necessary measures to enforce the maintenance claim of those entitled to maintenance living abroad.
This essentially includes determining the whereabouts of the person liable for maintenance and their economic capacity. Depending on the case, a foreign title is declared enforceable in the Federal Republic of Germany or a maintenance title is obtained for the first time. If paternity has not yet been clarified, a paternity determination procedure is carried out beforehand. As far as possible, voluntary maintenance payments will be worked towards. If payments are not made, foreclosure is initiated.
Correspondence takes place directly with the responsible foreign transmission agency. The assertion of foreign maintenance claims is always associated with great challenges, since the respective foreign substantive maintenance law remains applicable, which differs to different degrees from the German maintenance law.
Contracting States
| Contracting States | since |
|---|---|
| Algeria | 1969 |
| Argentina | 1972 |
| Australia | 1985 |
| Barbados | 1970 |
| Belarus | 1996 |
| Belgium | 1966 |
| Bosnia Herzegovina | 1992 |
| Brazil | 1960 |
| Federal Republic of Germany | 1959 |
| Burkina Faso | 1962 |
| Chile | 1961 |
| China (Taiwan) | 1957 |
| Denmark | 1959 |
| Ecuador | 1974 |
| Estonia | 1997 |
| Finland | 1962 |
| France | 1960 |
| Greece | 1965 |
| Guatemala | 1957 |
| Haiti | 1958 |
| Holy See | 1964 |
| Ireland | 1995 |
| Israel | 1957 |
| Italy | 1958 |
| Cape Verde | 1985 |
| Kazakhstan | 2000 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2004 |
| Colombia | 1999 |
| Croatia | 1991 |
| Liberia | 2006 |
| Luxembourg | 1971 |
| Morocco | 1957 |
| Macedonia | 1991 |
| Mexico | 1992 |
| Moldova | 2006 |
| Monaco | 1961 |
| Montenegro | 2006 |
| New Zealand | 1986 |
| Netherlands | 1962 |
| Niger | 1965 |
| Norway | 1957 |
| Austria | 1969 |
| Pakistan | 1995 |
| Philippines | 1968 |
| Poland | 1960 |
| Portugal | 1965 |
| Romania | 1991 |
| Sweden | 1958 |
| Switzerland | 1977 |
| Serbia | 1992 |
| Seychelles | 2004 |
| Slovakia | 1993 |
| Slovenia | 1991 |
| Spain | 1966 |
| Sri Lanka | 1958 |
| Surinam | 1979 |
| Czech Republic | 1993 |
| Tunisia | 1968 |
| Turkey | 1971 |
| Ukraine | 2006 |
| Hungary | 1957 |
| Uruguay | 1995 |
| United Kingdom | 1975 |
| Central African Republic | 1962 |
| Cyprus | 1986 |
literature
- Alimony abroad; Notes on claiming maintenance with a foreign element in Germany and abroad, Federal Office of Justice, 1st edition 2011 Bonn
Web links
- UN Convention of 1956 (legal text)
- Forms for the assertion of maintenance claims according to the UN Convention
- Federal Office of Justice
Individual evidence
- ↑ Art. 1 para. 1 UN Convention of 1956
- ^ Preamble to the UN Convention of 1956
- ↑ Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of December 22, 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ 2001 No. L 12 p. 1).
- ↑ according to Regulation (EC) No. 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of April 21, 2004 on the introduction of a European enforcement order for undisputed claims (OJ EC 2004, No. L 143 p. 15).
- ↑ Hague Convention of October 2, 1973 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Maintenance Decisions (BGBl. 1986 II, p. 826).
- ↑ Lugano Convention of September 16, 1988 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Federal Law Gazette 1994 II, p. 2660).
