The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements was concluded in June 2005. It provides a framework of rules relating to exclusive jurisdiction agreements (also known as forum selection clauses or choice of court agreements) in civil and commercial matters, and the subsequent recognition and enforcement of a judgment given by a court of a contracting state designated in the jurisdiction agreement.

States may become a party to the Hague Convention either by (1) signature followed by ratification, acceptance or approval, or (2) by accession. It requires two ratifications or accessions for it to enter into force.

The first instrument of accession was lodged by Mexico in 2007. Following the deposit of the EU's instrument of approval in June 2015, the Hague Convention entered into force on 1 October 2015 in all EU member states (except Denmark, where it entered force on 1 September 2018), and Mexico. The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005) Regulations 2015, which came into force on 1 October 2015, made supplementary and consequential amendments to CPR 6 and the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 to facilitate the entry into force of the Hague Convention in the UK. (The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (2005 Hague Convention and 2007 Hague Convention) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI 2022/77) came into force on 26 January 2022. They do not make any changes to the law, but merely insert the text of the UK's reservations and declarations into schedules to the CJJA 1982, for ease of reference; see Legal update, Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (2005 Hague Convention and 2007 Hague Convention) (Amendment) Regulations 2022).)

The Hague Convention was ratified by Singapore on 2 June 2016 and entered into force as between Singapore, the EU (except Denmark) and Mexico on 1 October 2016. It entered into force for Montenegro on 1 August 2018 and for Ukraine on 1 August 2023.

The Hague Convention has been signed by the US (January 2009), China (September 2017) and Israel (3 March 2021). The signing of the Hague Convention (without ratification, accession or succession) does not have any immediate legal consequences for those signatories, but simply indicates a political will to conclude it in due course. (A list of signatories and ratifying states is available on the HCCH website.)

The UK was bound by the Hague Convention during the UK-EU transition period (which ended at 11.00pm (UK time) on 31 December 2020). The UK took the following steps regarding its accession to the Hague Convention with effect from the end of the transition period:

For information on the implications of Brexit for the Hague Convention, see: