The
Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, more commonly called the
Hague Service Convention, is a multilateral treaty which was signed in
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
on 15 November 1965 by members of the
Hague Conference on Private International LawThe Hague Conference on Private International Law is the preeminent organisation in the area of private international law....
. It allows service of judicial documents from one signatory state to another without recourse to consular and
diplomatic channelsDiplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war,...
. The issue of international service had been previously addressed as part of the 1905 Civil Procedure Convention which was also signed in The Hague.
The
Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, more commonly called the
Hague Service Convention, is a multilateral treaty which was signed in
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
on 15 November 1965 by members of the
Hague Conference on Private International LawThe Hague Conference on Private International Law is the preeminent organisation in the area of private international law....
. It allows service of judicial documents from one signatory state to another without recourse to consular and
diplomatic channelsDiplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war,...
. The issue of international service had been previously addressed as part of the 1905 Civil Procedure Convention which was also signed in The Hague. The 1905 convention however did not command wide support and was ratified by only 22 countries.
Prior to the enactment of the Hague Service Convention,
service of processService of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...
in civil cases was generally effected by means of a
Letter RogatoryA Letter Rogatory or Letter of Request is a formal request from a court to a foreign court for some type of judicial assistance. The most common remedies sought by Letters Rogatory are service of process and taking of evidence.-Service of process:...
, by a formal request from the
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
in the country where proceedings were initiated or underway to a court in another country where the party on whom service was to be made (usually the defendant) resided. This formal procedure generally required transmission of the document to be served from the originating court to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the state of origin. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the state of origin forwarded the request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the destination state. The foreign ministry would then forward the documents to the local court where the party to be served resided and the local court would arrange for service on the party to be served. Once service was made, a certificate of service (proving that service was made) would then pass through the same channels in reverse. Under a somewhat more streamlined procedure, courts could sometimes forward service requests to the foreign ministry or the foreign court directly, cutting out one or more steps in the process. To affect service in states which have not ratified the Hague Service Convention, parties often still have to follow this cumbersome and time-consuming procedure.
The Hague Service Convention established a more simplified means for parties in signatory states to affect service in other signatory states. Under the Convention, each contracting state is required to designate a "Central Authority" to accept incoming requests for service. A "Judicial Officer" who is competent to serve process in the state of origin is permitted to send request for service directly to the "Central Authority" of the state where service is to be made. Upon receiving the request, the "Central Authority" in the receiving state arranges for service in a manner permitted within the receiving state, typically through a local court to the defendant's residence. Once service is affected, the "Central Authority" sends a certificate of service to the "Judicial Officer' who made the request. Parties are required to use three standardized forms: (1) a request for service, (2) a summary of the proceedings (similar to a summons), and (3) a certificate of service. These are available at the Hague Convention website
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=44. The main benefits of the Hague Service Convention over Letters Rogatory is that it is faster (requests generally take 2 - 4 months rather than 6 - 12 months), it uses standardized forms which should be recognized by authorities in signatory countries, and in most cases, it is cheaper because service can be affected by the local attorney without hiring a foreign attorney to advise on how to serve.
The Hague Service Convention does not prohibit a receiving state from permitting international service by other methods otherwise authorized by local law (for example, service directly by mail or personal service by a person otherwise authorized to service process in the foreign country. For example, in the United States, service can often be made by a private process server. States which permit parties to use these "alternative means" of service make a separate designation in the documents they file with the Convention. These can be found at the Hague Service Convention web-site.
Country-by-Country Issues
In the United States, an attorney for a party is designated by statute as a "Judicial Officer" and thus can send a service request directly to the "Central Authority" in the foreign state. However, it is important to see whether other countries will accept a direct request from a foreign attorney. Some countries, such as
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, will not honor a service request unless it is executed by a judge or clerk of the requesting court.
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
permit incoming service on their residents directly by mail. By contrast,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
and most current or former communist countries require incoming service to be effected exclusively through their Central Authorities.
The U.S. courts are currently split over and interpretation of Art. 10(a) of the Hague Convention, which permits the sending of documents by postal channels to signatory countries (such as France and Italy) which permit it. Some U.S. courts have indicated that Art. 10(a) permits "Service" on persons in Hague-signatory countries while other U.S. courts read that provision as only permitting parties to "Send", and not formally "Serve" documents to persons in those countries. The controversy derives from the text of convention itself -- in most cases where the Convention permits service, the word "Service" is used. However, in the provision addressing service by postal channels, the word "Send" is used instead. Courts in other Hague-signatory countries (notably, the European Court of Justice and courts in Greece and Alberta, Canada) have interpreted the Hague Convention's mail provision to authorize formal "Service."
The U.S. Supreme Court has indicated (in dicta) that service by the Hague Service Convention is mandatory (rather than optional) when it applies. Volkswagenwerk v. Schlunk, 486 U.S. 694 (U.S. 1986).
http://supreme.vlex.com/vid/volkswagenwerk-aktiengesellschaft-schlunk-19970656
Other treaties addressing service include the Inter-American Convention and
Council Regulation (EC) No. 1348/2000Council Regulation No. 1348/2000 of 29 May 2000 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters is a European Union regulation in the field of judicial cooperation. It allows service of judicial documents from one member state to another...
.
Parties to the Hague Service Convention
As of February 22, 2009, there are 59 states which are parties of the Hague Service Convention. Forty-nine of the 68 Hague Conference on Private International Law member states are party to the Hague Service Convention. In addition, ten states which are not members of the Hague Conference (
Antigua and BarbudaAntigua and Barbuda is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands Antigua and Barbuda and a number of smaller islets...
, Bahamas,
BarbadosBarbados , situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent West Indian Continental Island-nation in the western Atlantic Ocean. For over three centuries Barbados was a colony and protectorate of the United Kingdom; and still currently maintains Queen Elizabeth II as head of state...
,
BotswanaThe Republic of Botswana is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
,
KuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab emirate bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. The greatest distance from north to south is 200 km and from east to west 170 km . The name is a diminutive of an Arabic word meaning "fortress built near water." It has a...
,
MalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast and Mozambique, which surrounds it on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by...
,
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
,
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines is a nation in the Lesser Antilles chain, which lies at the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of...
,
San MarinoThe Most Serene Republic of San Marino is a country situated in the Apennine Mountains. It is a landlocked enclave, completely surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over 60 km² with an estimated population of almost 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
, and
SeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar...
) have joined the Hague Service Convention.
| State |
Date of Ratification |
State |
Date of Ratification |
| Albania |
01 November 2006 |
Antigua and Barbuda |
01 May 1985 |
| Argentina |
02 February 2001 |
Bahamas |
17 June 1997 |
| Barbados |
10 February 1969 |
Belarus |
06 June 1997 |
| Belgium |
19 November 1970 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
16 June 2008 |
| Botswana |
10 February 1969 |
Bulgaria |
23 November 1999 |
| Canada |
26 September 1988 |
China, People's Republic of |
06 May 1991 |
| Croatia |
28 February 2006 |
Cyprus |
26 October 1982 |
| Czech Republic |
23 September 1981 |
Denmark |
02 August 1969 |
| Egypt |
12 December 1968 |
Estonia |
02 February 1996 |
| Finland |
11 November 1969 |
France |
03 July 1972 |
| Germany |
27 April 1979 |
Greece |
20 July 1983 |
| Hungary |
13 July 2004 |
Iceland |
10 November 2008 |
| India |
23 November 2006 |
Ireland |
05 April 1994 |
| Israel |
14 August 1972 |
Italy |
25 November 1981 |
| Japan |
28 May 1970 |
South Korea, Republic of |
13 January 2000 |
| Kuwait |
08 May 2002 |
Latvia |
28 March 1995 |
| Lithuania |
02 August 2000 |
Luxembourg |
09 July 1975 |
| Macedonia, The former Yugoslav Republic of |
23 December 2008 |
Malawi |
24 April 1972 |
| Mexico |
02 November 1999 |
Monaco |
01 March 2007 |
| Netherlands |
03 November 1975 |
Norway |
02 August 1969 |
| Pakistan |
07 December 1988 |
Poland |
13 February 1996 |
| Portugal |
27 December 1973 |
Romania |
21 August 2003 |
| Russian Federation |
01 May 2001 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
06 January 2005 |
| San Marino |
15 April 2002 |
Seychelles |
18 November 1980 |
| Slovakia |
23 November 1981 |
Slovenia |
18 September 2000 |
| Spain |
04 June 1987 |
Sri Lanka |
31 August 2000 |
| Sweden |
02 August 1969 |
Switzerland |
02 November 1994 |
| Turkey |
28 February 1972 |
Ukraine |
01 February 2001 |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
17 November 1967 |
United States of America |
24 August 1967 |
| Venezuela |
29 October 1993 |
External links