Biography
Hans (Johannes H.A.) van Loon, born in Utrecht, the Netherlands 1948.
Education
Gymnasium β, Studies of Law, Sociology and International Relations, Universities of Utrecht and Leiden, and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (scholarship Swiss Government). Trainee Council of Europe (European Commission of Human Rights) 1973.
Law practice
Practiced law before the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (1974-1978, Law firm of Blackstone, Rueb & Van Boeschoten). Acted for the applicant before the European Court of Human Rights (Winterwerp v. the Netherlands, ECtHR 24 Oct.1979, 27 Nov.1981). Secretary of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law (Netherlands branch of the ILA, 1977-1992). Deputy Judge Hague District Court (1984-1996).
Hague Conference on Private International Law
Member of the Secretariat (Permanent Bureau) of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (Hague Conference/HCCH) (1978–2013); Secretary of the Netherlands Standing Government Committee for the Codification of Private International Law, which helped lay the foundation for Book X (private international law) of the Dutch Civil Code (1978-1996).
Secretary General of the Hague Conference (30 June 1996-30 June 2013). Led the organisation during a period of rapid expansion of Members (including the European Union), of States party to Hague Conventions, and of the establishment of regional offices for Latin America and the Caribbean in Buenos Aires (2005), and for Asia-Pacific in Hong Kong (2012).
Has contributed to the creation of, and follow up on, the following Hague Conventions:
International Access to Justice (1980) Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980) Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition (1985) Law Applicable to Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (1986) Law Applicable to Succession to the Estates of Deceased Persons (1989) Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993) Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (1996) International Protection of Adults (2000) Choice of Court Agreements (2005) Law Applicable to Certain Rights in Respect of Securities held with an Intermediary (2006) Revision of the Statute of the Hague Conference to enable Membership of the EU of the Hague Conference (effective 1 January 2007) International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (2007) Protocol on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations (2007); and Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (2019).
Academic activity
Has lectured at universities and academic institutions worldwide, including in: Auckland, Wellington, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Sendai, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, New Delhi, Chennai, Kathmandu, Jerusalem, Addis Ababa, Dakar, Rabat, Moscow, St Petersburg, Kiev, Helsinki, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Bucharest, Sofia, Ankara (online), Athens, Nis, Zeneca, Kragujevac, Florence, Milan, Rome, Taormina, Barcelona, Valencia, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, Madrid, Braga (Minho univ.), Paris, Lille, Lyon, Montpellier, Nancy, Strasbourg, Fribourg, Genève, Lausanne, Sion, Luxembourg, Ghent, Louvain-la-Neuve, Leuven, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Nijmegen, Berlin, Herten, Leverkusen, Münster, Würzburg, London, Bath, Liverpool, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Dublin, Ottawa, Champaign-Urbana, Eugene, Stanford, Washington DC, Gainesville, Mexico City, San José, Panama, Bogotá, Medellin, Caracas (online), Quito, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile.
Member of the Institut de Droit International (2009). Member of the Groupe européen de droit international privé (GEDIP) (1991); honorary member (2023). Honorary member of the Asociación Americana de Derecho Internacional Privado (ASADIP) (2007).
Doctor honoris causa, University of Osnabrück (2001). Honorary Professor, Law Faculty University of Edinburgh (2022-2025).