Vol. 486 No. 1
286 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reports, or parts of reports, of the Law Reform Commission relevant to his Department which have not been implemented to date; whether implementation is under consideration or will be proposed in relation to each recommendation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1124/98]
The Law Reform Commission has published papers on a number of international conventions and recommended that each of these conventions should be ratified by Ireland. The up-to-date position as regards Ireland's ratification of the conventions is as follows: The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. In accordance with the Law Reform Commission's recommendation, the convention has been ratified by Ireland; the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commerical Matters. This convention has not been ratified by Ireland; the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, 1965. In accordance with the Law Reform Commission's recommendation, Ireland has ratified the convention; the Hague Convention on Succession to the Estates of Deceased Persons. Ireland has not ratified this convention; UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Ireland has not ratified this convention; Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Statutory instruments implementing the terms of the convention into domestic Irish law are currently being prepared and Ireland should be in a position to ratify the convention shortly; the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Ireland has not ratified this convention; the UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects. Ireland has not ratified this convention.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for implementing the terms of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents into domestic Irish law. The substantive issues dealt with by the other conventions, in respect of which the Law Reform Commission may have made recommendations, are not issues that come under the auspices of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
