[f] 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 Extraordinary Session may be held.
The Plenary Sessions discuss and adopt the draft Conventions (and sometimes Recommendations) prepared by the Special Commissions and take decisions on the subjects to be included in the agenda for the Conference's work. All of the texts adopted are brought together in a Final Act which is signed by the delegations. Under the rules of procedure of the Plenary Sessions each Member State has one vote. Decisions are taken by a majority of the votes cast by the delegations of Member States which are present at the vote. Non-Member States invited to participate on an equal footing with Member States also have the right to vote.
Under a tradition which has been followed since the First Session, the President elected for the Plenary Session has always been the leading Delegate of the Netherlands.
The Seventeenth Session marked the Centenary of the Conference and was held from 10-29 May 1993. The Eighteenth Session held in October 1996 adopted the Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children and decided to institute a Special Commission charged with drawing up a draft Convention on the protection of adults.
The Nineteenth Session adopted, in December 2002, the Convention on the Law Applicable to Certain Rights in respect of Securities held with an Intermediary. In June 2005, the Twentieth Session adopted the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements.