Hague Service Convention

Hague Service Convention

Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters
State party to the Convention
Signed	15 November 1965
Location	The Hague
Effective	10 February 1969
Condition	3 ratifications
Parties	71
Depositary	Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Languages	English and French
Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters at Wikisource

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 adopted in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 15 November 1965 by member states of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The treaty allows for service of process of legal documents from one state to another without the use of consular or diplomatic channels. The treaty supersedes the 1905 Civil Procedure Convention, which had previously dealt with the issue of international service of process.

Diplomatic service via letters rogatory

For states which are not party to the Hague Service Convention, diplomatic channels are generally used for the service of legal documents. It is generally effected by a letter rogatory, which is a formal request to issue a judicial order from a court in the state where proceedings are underway to a court in another state. This procedure generally requires transmission of the document to be served from the originating court to the foreign ministry in the state of origin. The foreign ministry in the state of origin forwards the request to the foreign ministry in the destination state. The foreign ministry then forwards the documents to the local court. The local court then makes an order to allow for the service. Once service is made, a certificate of service would then pass through the same channels in reverse. Under a somewhat more streamlined procedure, courts can sometimes forward service requests to the foreign ministry or the foreign court directly, cutting out one or more steps in the process.

Procedure

The Hague Service Convention established a more simplified means for parties to effect service in other contracting 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. Once service is effected, the central authority sends a certificate of service to the judicial officer who made the request. Parties are required to use three standardised forms: a request for service, a summary of the proceedings (similar to a summons), and a certificate of service.

The main benefits of the Hague Service Convention over letters rogatory is that it is faster (requests generally take two to four months rather than six months to one year), it uses standardised forms which should be recognised by authorities in other states, and it is cheaper (in most cases) because service can be effected by a local attorney without hiring a foreign attorney to advise on foreign service procedures.

The Hague Service Convention does not prohibit a receiving state from permitting international service by methods otherwise authorised by domestic law. For example, a state could allow for service directly by mail or by personal service. States which permit parties to use these alternative means of service make a separate designation in the documents they file upon ratifying or acceding to the Convention.

Interpretation issues

Definition of court officers

In the United States, an attorney is regarded as an officer of the court,^[1] but not all states parties to the Convention accept them to participate in their court procedures.^[2]

Service by mail

The interpretation of a provision in article 10(a) is controversial. The provision permits the requesting judicial officer to "send" judicial documents by postal channels to states that have authorised this channel upon ratifying or acceding to the Convention, such as France and Italy. Other provisions of the convention say "serve" or "service". The controversy is over whether the provision permits service directly on parties by mail. In the United States, some courts interpret this provision to permit service by mailing documents directly to individuals; some jurisdiction in the United States, such as Florida, allow marriage license by mail to have an apostile attached to meet the requirements of authentication others hold that the provision only authorises sending, but not serving, documents by mail. The European Court of Justice and court in Greece and Canada have interpreted the provision to permit formal service by mail. Other states, including Germany, Switzerland, and South Korea, require incoming service to be effected exclusively through the state's central authority.^[3]

Relation with other instruments

Under the convention, states may conclude different agreements between them that take precedence over the convention. Thus, within the European Union (except for Denmark) other rules are applied instead of the Convention.

State parties

As of March 2016, 71 states are contracting parties of the Hague Service Convention. They include 56 of the 81 Hague Conference on Private International Law member states in addition to other states.^[3]

State party	Signed	Ratified or acceded	Entry into force
Albania	—	1 November 2006	1 July 2007
Antigua and Barbuda	—	1 May 1985	1 November 1981
Argentina	—	2 February 2001	2 December 2001
Armenia	—	27 June 2012	1 February 2013
Australia[upper-alpha 1]	—	15 March 2010	1 November 2010
Bahamas, The	—	17 June 1997	1 February 1998
Barbados	—	10 February 1969	1 October 1969
Belarus	—	6 June 1997	1 February 1998
Belgium	21 January 1966	19 November 1970	18 January 1971
Belize	—	8 September 2009	1 May 2010
Bosnia and Herzegovina	—	16 June 2008	1 February 2009
Botswana	—	10 February 1969	1 September 1969
Bulgaria	—	23 November 1999	1 August 2000
Canada	—	26 September 1998	1 May 1999
China	—	6 May 1991	1 January 1992
Colombia	—	10 April 2013	1 November 2013
Costa Rica	—	16 March 2016
Croatia	—	28 February 2006	1 November 2006
Cyprus	—	26 October 1982	1 June 1983
Czech Republic	—	28 January 1993	1 January 1993
Denmark	7 January 1969	2 August 1969	1 October 1969
Egypt	1 March 1966	12 December 1968	10 February 1969
Estonia	—	2 February 1996	1 October 1996
Finland	15 November 1965	11 November 1969	10 November 1969
France	12 January 1967	3 July 1972	1 September 1972
Germany	15 November 1965	27 April 1979	26 June 1979
Greece	20 July 1983	20 July 1983	18 September 1983
Hungary	—	13 July 2004	1 April 2005
Iceland	—	10 November 2008	1 July 2009
India	—	23 November 2006	1 August 2007
Ireland	20 October 1989	5 April 1994	4 June 1994
Israel	25 November 1965	14 August 1972	13 October 1972
Italy	25 January 1979	25 November 1981	24 January 1982
Japan	12 March 1970	28 May 1970	27 July 1970
Kazakhstan	—	15 October 2015	1 June 2016
Korea, South	—	13 January 2000	1 August 2000
Kuwait	—	8 May 2002	1 December 2002
Latvia	—	28 March 1995	1 November 1995
Lithuania	—	2 August 2000	1 June 2001
Luxembourg	27 October 1971	9 July 1975	7 September 1975
Macedonia, Republic of	—	23 December 2008	1 September 2009
Malawi	—	24 April 1972	1 December 1972
Malta	—	1 February 2011	1 October 2011
Mexico	—	2 November 1999	1 June 2000
Moldova	—	4 July 2012	1 February 2013
Monaco	—	1 March 2007	1 November 2007
Montenegro	—	16 January 2012	1 September 2012
Morocco	—	24 March 2011	1 November 2011
Netherlands[upper-alpha 2]	15 November 1965	3 November 1975	2 January 1976
Norway	15 October 1968	2 August 1969	1 October 1969
Pakistan	—	7 December 1988	1 August 1989
Poland	—	13 February 1996	1 September 1996
Portugal	5 July 1971	27 December 1973	25 February 1974
Romania	—	21 August 2003	1 April 2004
Russia	—	1 May 2001	1 December 2001
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	—	6 January 2005	27 October 1979
San Marino	—	15 April 2002	1 November 2002
Serbia	—	2 July 2010	1 February 2011
Seychelles	—	18 November 1980	1 July 1981
Slovakia	—	15 March 1993	1 January 1993
Slovenia	—	18 September 2000	1 June 2001
Spain	21 October 1976	4 June 1987	3 August 1987
Sri Lanka	—	31 August 2000	1 June 2001
Sweden	4 February 1969	2 August 1969	1 October 1969
Switzerland	21 May 1985	2 November 1994	1 January 1995
Turkey	11 June 1968	28 February 1972	28 April 1972
Ukraine	—	1 February 2001	1 December 2001
United Kingdom[upper-alpha 3]	10 December 1965	17 November 1967	10 February 1969
United States[upper-alpha 4]	15 November 1965	24 August 1967	10 February 1969
Venezuela	—	29 October 1993	1 July 1994
Vietnam	—	16 March 2016

Notes

1. The Convention entered into force on 1 November 2010 for all of Australia's external territories.^[4]
2. The Convention entered into force on 27 July 1986 for Aruba.^[5]
3. The Convention entered into force on 19 July 1970 for Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.^[6] It entered into force on 2 October 1982 for Anguilla.^[6]
4. The Convention entered into force for the Northern Mariana Islands on 30 May 1994.^[7]

References

1. "United States of America – Central Authority & practical information". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
2. "Preparation of Letters Rogatory". United States Department of State. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
3. "Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters: Status table". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
4. "Extension of Application of the Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters to Australian External Territories". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
5. "Extension of Application of the Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters to Aruba". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
6. "Extension of Application of the Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters to British Territories". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
7. "Extension of Application of the Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 2015-04-22.

External links

• Full text of the Convention
• List of central authorities designated by states parties