The Convention on the law applicable to certain rights in respect of securities held with an intermediary, or Hague Securities Convention is an international multilateral treaty intended to remove, globally, legal uncertainties for cross-border securities transactions. The Convention was drafted under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which as resulted in several Conflict of Laws conventions. Switzerland, Mauritius and the United States have ratified the convention, which entered into force on 1 April 2017. The European Commission recommended in July 2006 that its member states sign the Convention, but this recommendation was later withdrawn. The need for the Convention The Convention is largely a response to the move in recent times in most nations from a purely direct holding system to a mixed direct and indirect holding system. The reforms, though largely beneficial, have created an alarming level of uncertainty as to the question of "what law applies" in cross-border securities transactions. The development of a global agreed-upon method of determining the legal regime governing any such transactions lagged behind market practice, leaving financial markets with significant legal risk. The problem stems from the fact that intermediaries exist between an investor and the company which issues a particular security. Historically, many jurisdictions attempted to apply the traditional, but now arguably outdated, lex rei sitae test to securities held with intermediaries, by "looking through" the tiers of intermediaries to the laws of one or more of: the jurisdiction of incorporation of the issuer, the location of the issuer's register, or the location of the actual security certificate (the so-called "look-through approach"). Europe The Place of the Relevant Intermediary (or "PRIMA") approach was adopted in Europe under the European Union's Settlement Finality Directive of 1998. That directive has been adopted by a number of states. In 2002, the European Community also passed the European Union's Collateral Directive. Switzerland, which is not part of the European Union and therefore does not have to wait for agreement among all member states, signed the Convention. Japan Strong support for Japan joining the Convention has been expressed in Japanese legal circles. New test The first Special Commission of the Convention met at The Hague in January 2001 to consider the appropriate conflict of laws rule. At this first meeting, initially the concept embraced by the PRIMA approach was adopted. The next two years of negotiations and meetings were spent determining an appropriate