Compelling German Third-party Witnesses to Testify in US Litigation
In U.S.-German disputes, the question often arises whether a party in U.S.litigation can compel a third-party witness who is a German resident and does not volunteer to testify to render testimony as...
View ArticlePre-Trial Discovery under the Hague Evidence Convention: Is Germany’s...
A recent Frankfurt case raises this issue: Germany has declared ”that it will not execute Letters of Request issued for the purpose of obtaining pre-trial discovery of documents as known in Common Law...
View ArticleDeposing Third Party Witnesses in Germany in Germany: Same Same, but Different
In an earlier post, we looked at the possibility of compelling German third party witnesses to testify. Parties to U.S. litigation can compel third party witnesses under the Hague Evidence Convention...
View ArticleThe Hague: Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Service,...
This week, the Hague Conference on Private International Law is holding a meeting of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Service, Evidence and Access to Justice Conventions. At...
View ArticleUpdate from The Hague: Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the...
Update: As previously reported, the Hague Conference on Private International Law is holding a Special Commission meeting on the Service, Evidence and Access to Justice Conventions. At Letters...
View ArticleHague Evidence Conference: The Experts’ Group Issues Its Report
This is a guest post by Ted Fokman at Letters Blogatory: Earlier this year, the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the Hague Conference established an Experts’ Group on the Use of Video-Link and...
View ArticleThe Hague Conference: New Handbooks Published on the Service and Evidence...
Last week, the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law announced that the new editions of the Practical Handbooks on the Operation of the Service Convention and of the...
View ArticlePre-trial Discovery of Documents under the Hague Evidence Convention –...
You read it here first – Germany’s position on the discovery of documents may be softening. My first post on the topic was triggered by a May 2013 decision of the Frankfurt Court of Appeals, setting...
View ArticleFederal Constitutional Court: Failure of Court To Seek International Judicial...
The Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) has held that a court’s failure to avail itself of the tools of international judicial co-operation can amount to a violation of the party’s...
View ArticleIs Germany’s Position on Pre-trial Discovery of Documents under the Hague...
In 2013, a decision by the President of the Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) Frankfurt led me to speculate whether Germany’s position on the pre-trial discovery of docments under the Hague Evidence...
View ArticleGermany’s Position on Pre-trial Discovery Softens!
You read it here first, back in 2013, but at the time with a question mark, and then again in 2014 and 2015. Finally, 2017 is the year it is actually going to happen: Germany is about to change its...
View ArticleIBA Virtually Together: Managing International Litigation, 4 November 2020
At this year’s International Bar Association‘s virtual annual conference, I have the pleasure of moderating a session on managing international litigation, with this wonderful panel: Sam Hosseini of...
View ArticleThe Month in Retrospect: What Else Happened in July 2021
Hague Evidence Convention In Force For Georgia, Mongolia Joins HCCH On 31 May 2021, Georgia deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in...
View ArticleGermany and Pre-Trial Discovery of Documents: A New Proposal
Germany has made a reservation under Article 23 Hague Evidence Convention and does not execute letters of request “issued for the purpose of obtaining pre-trial discovery of documents as known in...
View ArticleMax Planck Institutes: Joint Opinion on Judicial Assistance Reforms
In February 2022, we covered the proposed legislation that would relax Germany’s position on the discovery of documents under the Hague Evidence Convention (see here). The draft bill that contained...
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