Receipt and processing of applications by Central Authorities
Article 23
1. The requested Central Authority shall act expeditiously in processing an application, based on the 1980 Hague Convention, as referred to in Article 22. 2. Where the Central Authority of the requested Member State receives an application referred to in Article 22, it shall, within five working days from the date of receipt of the application, acknowledge receipt. It shall, without undue delay, inform the Central Authority of the requesting Member State or the applicant, as appropriate, what initial steps have been or will be taken to deal with the application, and may request any further necessary documents and information.