The Hague Services Convention simplifies the international service process by designating a central authority to accept legal documents from other nations. It prevents lawsuits from advancing without the defendant’s awareness and frustration in the legal community. The convention does not cover all legal documents and extradition requires different procedures.
The Hague Services Convention is an international agreement dating back to 1965 that streamlines the mechanism for the international service process, in which people have to serve legal documents on individuals and entities in other countries. Signatories to this convention pledge to abide by the terms, designating a central authority to accept process service from other nations and ensure that legal documents reach the recipient. In countries that have not signed the convention, people have to go through diplomatic channels in order to serve legal documents successfully.
Before the Hague Services Convention, it was sometimes difficult to service legal documents internationally. This has led to situations such as lawsuits advancing without the defendant’s awareness, slow-moving lawsuits, and frustration on the part of the legal community. To service the documents, it was necessary to use the consular services to get the documents to the addressees, and this could take a long time.
Under the Hague Services Convention, when there is a need to serve documents on a person from or in another country, the documents are transmitted to a central authority in the country of interest. The authority reviews them to make sure they are accurate and complete, then delivers them to the recipient if possible. If contact cannot be made, this will be reported. The central authority transmits the outcome of the notification attempt, such as acknowledgment and acceptance of the documents, to the subject requesting the legal service.
Many nations prohibit members of the diplomatic corps from providing process services, as this could potentially create tension and conflict. Individuals must go through the Hague Services Convention or the appropriate diplomatic channels if they need to serve legal documents. Agencies such as the United States Marshals can help determine whether a nation is abiding by the convention. If not, the agency can provide assistance in the correct notification of documents.
Not all legal documents can be served under the Hague Services Convention. Individual countries may restrict certain types of notices if they violate their legal precepts. Service is also not the same as extradition, which requires different procedures. A person or entity can receive a notice of appearance in court and ignore it, requiring separate extradition proceedings to compel the person to appear in court. The host nation may refuse to honor the extradition request, for example when nations without the death penalty do not extradite people charged with death penalty offences.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
