Letters rogatory or letters of request are a formal request from a

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

to a foreign court for some type of

judicial assistance Judicial Assistance is the admittance and enforcement of a judicial order or request by a court from one jurisdiction to a court in another jurisdiction. Such admittance sometimes requires a treaty between the governments of the two jurisdictions. ...

. The most common remedies sought by letters rogatory are

service of process Each legal jurisdiction has rules and discrete terminology regarding the appropriate procedures for serving legal documents on a person being sued or subject to legal proceedings. In the U.S. legal system, service of process is the procedure ...

and taking of evidence.

Taking of evidence

One reason why a court may require assistance from a foreign court is to obtain evidence from a witness. This evidence may be to answer questions relevant to the determination of an issue of fact, or for

disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media Film and television *'' CBC News: Disclosure'', a television newsmagazine series in Canada * ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American erotic thriller film based on the 1994 novel by Michael Crichton * ''Dis ...

of documents. Courts usually have the power to

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

witnesses only from within the jurisdiction of their own legislature unless they are aided by foreign judicial, or sometimes legislative, authority. For example, Alice in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, could not summon Jean from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to the US courthouse. Instead, the US court would issue a letter rogatory to a French court, which would then examine Jean in France, and send a deposition back to the requesting court. Insofar as requests ''to'' US courts are concerned, the use of letters rogatory for requesting the taking of evidence has been replaced in large part by applications under 28 USC 1782, or Section 1782 Discovery. In many cases, the witness is willing to provide the testimony. However, the target court may compel the testimony of a witness who is unwilling to appear.

Conventions

In the past, letters rogatory could not usually be transmitted directly between the applicable courts, and they had to be transmitted via consular or diplomatic channels, which could make the whole process very slow. There have been various international conventions in regard to service of process and taking of evidence. One of the earliest conventions to simplify the procedure of letters rogatory was the 1905 Civil Procedure Convention, signed at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. Drafted only in French, it was ratified by only 22 countries. Later conventions, created after the institution of the

Hague Conference on Private International Law The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is an intergovernmental organisation in the area of private international law (also known as ''conflict of laws''), that administers several international conventions, protocols and soft ...

, which was drafted in both English and French, commanded more support. The

Hague Service Convention 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 that was adopted in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 15 Novem ...

, ratified in 1965, enabled designated authorities in each of the signatory states to transmit documents for service to each other, bypassing the diplomatic route. This convention has been ratified by 60 states, including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

, neither of which had ratified the 1905 convention. The

Hague Evidence Convention The Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters—more commonly referred to as the Hague Evidence Convention—is a multilateral treaty which was drafted under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private Inter ...

, ratified in 1970, formalised procedures for taking of evidence. It has been ratified by 43 states. For situations exclusively among

member states of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their o ...

, two regulations ( 1348/2000 and 1206/2001) superseded the two Hague Conventions. The two regulations apply to each of the member states of the European Union with the exception of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, which has opted out.

References

External links

Preparation of Letters Rogatory
advice from the U.S. State Department *

United States Attorneys' Manual The ''Justice Manual'' (known before 2018 as the ''United States Attorneys' Manual'') is a looseleaf text designed as a quick and ready reference for United States attorneys and other employees of the United States Department of Justice responsibl ...

:
Letters Rogatory
'.

{{Authority control Legal documents International law legal terminology International law Judicial cooperation Judicial legal terminology

Taking of evidence

Conventions

See also

References

External links