On 20 June 1956, in New York, the UN Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance is opened for signature — the multilateral instrument that helps secure maintenance payments across borders.

The Convention creates central authorities in each party that transmit and receive claims for maintenance for spouses, former spouses and children, without forcing automatic recognition of foreign judgments.

Adopted under UN auspices, it responds to postwar migration and the difficulty creditors faced chasing debtors abroad. Entry into force: 25 May 1957.

Later Hague maintenance conventions complemented it, but it remains a pillar of 1950s international civil cooperation.

For family law and judicial assistance, 20 June 1956 marks a practical cross-border maintenance recovery mechanism.

The official text is registered in the United Nations Treaty Series, Chapter XX.

The Convention of 20 June 1956 remains the classic UN reference for recovery abroad of maintenance.

Image: UN Headquarters New York; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance. Treaty text: Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (UNTC XX-1).