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 which was adopted in The Hague, The Netherlands, on 15 November 1965 by member states of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. It came into existence to give litigants a reliable and efficient means of serving the documents on parties living, operating or based in another country. The provisions of the convention apply to service of process in civil and commercial matters but not criminal matters. Also, Article 1 states that the Convention shall not apply if the address of the person to be served with the document is not known.

This article is about service of legal documents. For other international agreements with similar names, see Hague Convention (disambiguation).

Hague Service Convention
  State party to the Convention
  State ratified, not yet in force
Signed15 November 1965
Location The Hague
Effective10 February 1969
Condition3 ratifications
Parties75
DepositaryMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
LanguagesEnglish and French
Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters at Wikisource

Diplomatic service via letters rogatory
Main article: Letter 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 standardized 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 standardized forms which should be recognized 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 authorized 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.

Alternate methods of service

The Hague Convention provides various modes of process service of documents such as by postal channel or by diplomatic/consular agents, judicial officers, officials or other competent persons. These provisions are covered under Articles 8 to 10 and may or not be allowed by member countries as a valid mode of serving the documents in their territory. The method of serving the documents through a central agency (Article 5) is not optional but is binding on all the member countries. Service through a central agency usually takes a long time: 4 to 12 months. The convention gives relief to the litigants if they have not received certificate of service or delivery from the central agency even after waiting for six months. In such cases, the court may, if it considers that a reasonable time has elapsed, give its judgment. Also, in case of urgency, the court may issue a provisional order or protective measure even before six-month waiting period.

Central authority

Although the service is free, it may take 4 to 12 months for the central authority to process. The central authority decides which method is to be used. In many cases, a bailiff will be assigned by a local court to serve the documents and mail back the proof of service, but service by mail is also possible.[1]

Service by mail

Service by mail is possible only in states that have not objected to that method under Article 10(a) of the convention and if the jurisdiction where the court case takes place allows it under its applicable law. It is therefore possible in France and the Netherlands but not in Germany, Switzerland, and South Korea, where incoming service is to be effected exclusively through the state's central authority.[2]

In the United States, the interpretation of a provision in Article 10(a) has long been controversial, as the judiciary in some of its jurisdictions contended that service by mail was impossible because the word "send" rather than "serve" was used in the English-language version of the convention. The matter was finally resolved in May 2017 by the US Supreme Court in Water Splash, Inc. v. Menon, bringing the interpretation in line with parties in other US jurisdictions and the rest of the world.

Relation with other instruments

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

State parties

As of July 2020, 78 states are contracting parties of the Hague Service Convention. They include 64 of the 82 Hague Conference on Private International Law member states in addition to 14 other states.[2]

State party Signed Ratified or acceded Entry into force
 Albania — 1 November 2006 1 July 2007
 Andorra — 26 April 2017 1 December 2017
 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
 Austria 22 November 2019 14 July 2020 12 September 2020
 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
 Brazil — 1 November 2018 1 June 2019
 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 1 October 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
 Malawi — 24 April 1972 1 December 1972
 Malta — 1 February 2011 1 October 2011
 Marshall Islands — 29 July 2020 1 February 2021
 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
 Nicaragua — 24 July 2019 1 February 2020
 North Macedonia — 23 December 2008 1 September 2009
 Norway 15 October 1968 2 August 1969 1 October 1969
 Pakistan — 7 December 1988 1 August 1989
 Philippines — 3 March 2020 1 October 2020
 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
 Tunisia — 10 July 2017 2 February 2018
 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 1 December 2016

Notes
  1. The Convention entered into force on 1 November 2010 for all of Australia's external territories.[3]
  2. The Convention entered into force on 27 July 1986 for Aruba.[4]
  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.[5] It entered into force on 2 October 1982 for Anguilla.[5]
  4. The Convention entered into force for the Northern Mariana Islands on 30 May 1994.[6]

References
  1. "International Service of Process in Hong Kong". www.plexus-pi.com. Plexus Investigative Solutions. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  2. "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.
  3. "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 22 April 2015.
  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 Aruba". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  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 British Territories". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  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 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands". Hague Conference on Private International Law. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
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