What is a Session of the Hague Conference?
Use of the term “Session” can be traced back to the origins of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Indeed, the Organisation derives its name from the fact that it started as a series of ad hoc Conferences, so-called Sessions, convened on the initiative of the host government. It is only in 1951 that the Hague Conference became a permanent intergovernmental organisation. The First Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law was convened in 1893 by the Netherlands Government on the initiative of T.M.C. Asser (Nobel Peace Prize 1911). Prior to the Second World War, six Sessions were held (1893, 1894, 1900, 1904, 1925 and 1928). The Seventh Session in 1951 marked the beginning of a new era by the preparation of a Statute which made the Conference a permanent intergovernmental organisation. The Statute entered into force on 15 July 1955. Since 1956, regular Plenary Sessions have been held every four years. In case of need, as occurred in 1966 and 1985, an Ext
