The Montevideo Treaties of 1889 and 1940 and their Influence on the Unification of Private International Law in South America

Abstract

On February 14th, 1888, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Argentine Republic and the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Oriental Republic of the Uruguay met in Buenos Aires in order to consider, in accordance with the wishes of both Governments, the convening of a meeting of the Legal Advisers of all the Governments of South America. The purpose of the meeting would be to discuss the drafting of a treaty containing provisions for the harmonization and unification of the law relating to the various subjects included in the term Private International Law. The two ministers resolved that separate but simultaneous invitations should be sent to the governments of Chile, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Paraguay to participate in a South American International Congress to be held in Montevideo.