Hague Evidence Convention

Hague Evidence Convention

Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters
States parties to the convention by year of ratifications: green: '70, light blue: '80, blue '90, pink '00, red '10
Signed	18 March 1970
Location	The Netherlands
Effective	7 October 1972
Condition	ratification by 3 states[1]
Parties	59
Depositary	Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)
Languages	French and English
Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters at Wikisource

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 International Law (HCPIL). The treaty was negotiated in 1967 and 1968 and signed in The Hague on 18 March 1970. It entered into force in 1972. It allows transmission of letters of request (letters rogatory) from one signatory state (where the evidence is sought) to another signatory state (where the evidence is located) without recourse to consular and diplomatic channels.^[2] Inside the US, obtaining evidence under the Evidence Convention can be compared to comity.^[3]

The Hague Evidence Convention was not the first convention to address the transmission of evidence from one state to another. The 1905 Civil Procedure Convention—also signed in The Hague—contained provisions dealing with the transmission of evidence. However, that earlier convention did not command wide support and was only ratified by 22 countries. The United States initiated the negotiations that led to the creation of the Hague Evidence Convention. However, insofar as requests to United States courts are concerned, parties may also use the simpler discovery provision codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1782 (see Section 1782 Discovery).

Between states of the European Union, the Hague Evidence Convention has largely been supplanted by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001 on Cooperation Between the Courts of the Member States in the Taking of Evidence in Civil or Commercial Matters.

Parties to the Hague Evidence Convention

Countries that ratified
(cumulative by year)

As of 2016, there are 59 states which are parties of the Hague Evidence Convention. Fifty-four of the HCPIL member states are party to the Hague Evidence Convention. In addition, five states that are not members of the HCPIL (Barbados, Colombia, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, and Seychelles) have joined the Hague Evidence Convention. Article 39 of the Hague Evidence Convention expressly permits states which are not members of the HCPIL to accede to the Convention.

State Date of Ratification Comments  Albania 16 July 2010  Argentina 8 May 1987  Armenia 27 June 2012  Australia 23 October 1992  Barbados 5 March 1981  Belarus 7 August 2001  Bosnia and Herzegovina 16 June 2008  Brazil 9 April 2014  Bulgaria 23 November 1999  China, People's Republic of 8 December 1997 including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao  Colombia 13 January 2012  Costa Rica 16 March 2016  Croatia 1 October 2009  Cyprus 13 January 1983  Czech Republic 28 June 1993 succession of the ratification of Czechoslovakia in 1976  Denmark 20 June 1972  Estonia 2 February 1996  Finland 7 April 1976  France 7 August 1974 Complete territory  Germany 27 April 1979  Greece 18 January 2005  Hungary 13 July 2004  Iceland 10 November 2008  India 7 February 2007  Israel 19 July 1979  Italy 22 June 1982  Kuwait 8 May 2002  Latvia 28 March 1995  Liechtenstein 12 November 2008  Lithuania 2 August 2000  Luxembourg 26 July 1977  Macedonia 13 March 2009  Malta 24 February 2011  Montenegro 16 January 2012

State Date of Ratification Comments  Mexico 27 July 1989  Morocco 24 March 2011  Monaco 17 January 1986  Netherlands 8 April 1981 European Netherlands and Aruba  Norway 3 August 1972  Poland 13 February 1996  Portugal 12 March 1975  Romania 21 August 2003  Russia 1 May 2001  Serbia 2 July 2010  Seychelles 7 January 2004  Singapore 27 October 1978  Slovakia 15 March 1993 succession of the ratification of Czechoslovakia in 1976  Slovenia 18 November 2000  South Africa 8 July 1997  South Korea 14 December 2009  Spain 22 May 1987  Sri Lanka 30 October 2000  Sweden 2 May 1975   Switzerland 2 November 1994  Turkey 13 August 2004  Ukraine 1 February 2001  United Kingdom 16 July 1976 Including Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Anguila, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey  United States 8 August 1972 Including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands  Venezuela 1 November 1993

References

External links

• Hague Evidence Convention at the Hague Conference website
• Ratifications