The 1985 Hague Convention is an important legal tool in the area of private international law, creating a new bridge between the so-called trust and non-trust States. In dealing with the determination of the law applicable to trusts and their recognition, the Convention envisages some limits, such as mandatory rules and public policy. The present work considers the scope and the effects of the relevant provisions of the Hague Convention (namely, arts. 15, 16 and 18) and, through a survey of the interpretations given by scholars and national judges, aims at answering a fundamental question: do these limitations pose a real threat to the actual operation of the Hague Convention?