GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING THE MODEL FORM

 
GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING THE MODEL FORM 
 
Filling out the fields: Complete this form electronically using a word processor. Use plain language 
and  avoid  using  unnecessary  legal  or  technical  language.  Spell  out  dates  in  full  (e.g., 
“1 January 2014”). If the Letter of Request is being prepared by a party to the proceedings, consider 
engaging counsel  in the  Requested State to advise on the drafting of the  Letter  of  Request.  If a 
particular item does not apply, insert “not applicable” or “n/a” or otherwise indicate that this item 
is not applicable. The notes accompanying this form provide further information on filling out each 
field.  
 
These Guidelines are to be used when completing Letters of Request, however, they may also be 
useful when applying for permission to take evidence under Chapter II of the Evidence Convention. 
In such cases, the Model Form should be adapted accordingly. 
 
Content: This form is designed to ensure that the Letter of Request complies with the minimum 
content requirements set out in Art. 3(1) of the Convention. It also makes provision for additional 
content to be specified that may assist the execution of the Letter of Request.  
 
Attachments:  Attachments  may  be  used.  The  notes  accompanying  this  form  indicate  some 
situations in which it might be convenient to do so. Attachments should be clearly identified and 
referenced in the Letter of Request, and they should be securely fastened to the completed form. 
 
Language: The completed form (including attachments) must be in the language of the Requested 
State,  or  must  be  accompanied  by  a  translation  into  that  language  (Art. 4(1)).  However,  the 
Requested State may permit or require a different language to be used (Art. 4(2)-(4)). To find out the 
particular language requirements for the Requested State, check the practical information chart for 
that State. 
 
Format: The Letter of Request may be issued in paper or electronic form in accordance with the 
law  of  the  Requesting State.  If  the  requesting authority  wishes  to issue  the  Letter  of  Request  in 
electronic form (e.g., as a PDF file), it should first check with the Central Authority of the Requested 
State that such a form will be accepted. 
 
Copies: In general, a Letter of Request should be furnished in duplicate, except if it is issued in 
electronic form. If in doubt, contact the Central Authority of the Requested State. To find out the 
contact details of the Central Authority, check the practical information chart for the Requested 
State. 
 
No legalisation: The Letter of Request does not need to be legalised (or apostillised) (Art. 3(3)). 
 
Terminology: In this form: 
 
Central Authority means the authority designated by a Contracting State to receive Letters of 
Request from the Requesting State, and to transmit them to the requested authority.  
 
Convention means Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad 
in Civil or Commercial Matters, the full text of which is available on the Evidence Section of 
the Hague Conference website. 
 
Hague  Conference  on  Private  International  Law  (or  Hague  Conference)  means  the 
intergovernmental  organisation  under  whose  auspices  the  Convention  was  negotiated  and 
adopted.  
 
Letter of Request means the device used to request the obtaining of evidence or the 
performance of some other judicial act under the Evidence Convention. 

Practical information chart means the chart for a given Contracting State, which is available on

the Evidence Section of the Hague Conference website under “Central and other Authorities”.

Requested authority means the authority that executes the Letter of Request.

Requested State means the State to which the Letter of Request is addressed.

Requesting authority means the authority that issues the Letter of Request.

Requesting State means the State from which the Letter of Request is issued.

Further information: For further information on obtaining evidence abroad under the Convention,

visit the Evidence Section of the Hague Conference website < www.hcch.net >. Detailed

explanations on the operation of the Convention are provided in the Practical Handbook on the

Operation of the Evidence Convention, which may be ordered via the Evidence Section.

 
NOTES 
 
Item 1: The law of the Requesting State determines which authority sends the Letter of Request to the 
Requested  State.  In  some  States,  the  requesting  authority  itself  sends  the  Letter  of  Request  abroad,  or 
arranges for it to be transmitted abroad (e.g., by the moving party or its representative). In other States, the 
Letter  of  Request  is  first  transmitted  to  a  centralised  authority  (generally  the  Central  Authority  of  the 
Requesting State designated to receive Letters of Request from abroad), which itself sends the  Letter of 
Request abroad. 
 
Item 2:  In  some  States,  a  Letter  of  Request  may  be  sent  directly  to  the  requested  authority,  thereby 
bypassing the Central Authority. If this is the case, insert the name of the requested authority instead of the 
name of the Central Authority. To find out whether Letters of Request may be transmitted directly to the 
requested authority, check the practical information chart for the Requested State. 
 
Item 3: The documents establishing the execution of a Letter of Request are sent to the requesting authority 
by the same channel that the requesting authority used to send the Letter of Request. 
 
Item 4: The Requested State is required to execute the Letter of Request expeditiously. In some cases, the 
Letter of Request may need to be executed and returned within a particular timeframe. Use this item to 
specify any such timeframe and explain the urgency. In some States, the authorities will endeavour to give 
special expedited processing to urgent requests, although there is no guarantee that the Letter of Request 
will be executed within the specified timeframe. To find out how long it generally takes for a  Letter  of 
Request  to  be  executed  in  the  Requested  State,  check  the  practical  information  chart  for  that  State. 
Alternatively, contact the Central Authority of the Requested State. Bear in mind that execution may be 
delayed  due  to  factors  that  are  beyond  the  control  of  the  authorities  of  the  Requested State  (e.g., the 
availability and willingness of a person to give evidence).  
 
Item 5a: A Letter of Request may only be issued by a judicial authority. The law of the Requesting State 
determines which judicial authorities are competent to issue Letters of Request.  
 
Item 5b: The requesting authority is not expected to identify the requested authority. This will be done by 
the Central Authority of the Requested State. The law of the Requested State determines which authority is 
competent to execute  the Letter of Request. In most States, Letters of Request are executed by judges, 
magistrates or other judicial officers. In other (typically common law) States, Letters of Request are often 
executed  by  court-appointed  examiners,  which  are  typically  private  legal  practitioners.  Competence  to 
execute the Letter of Request may depend on the place of execution (e.g., the location of the person giving 
evidence, or the location of the property).  
 
Item 5c: The case may be cited using the style of the Requesting State. 
 
Item 6: If there is only a single party to the proceedings, only item 6a needs to be completed. Consider 
including an e-mail address for the parties and/or their representatives to facilitate future correspondence 
with the requested  authority  (particularly if the parties and/or their representatives are to be present at 
execution – see item 14). If there are multiple plaintiffs or defendants, consider specifying only the lead 
plaintiff or defendant, using the style of the Requesting State.  
 
Item 7a: The amount of information provided depends on the proceedings and the evidence being sought. 
As far as possible, describe the nature of proceedings in a precise manner, and in such a way as to ensure 
that a foreign authority unfamiliar with litigation practices in the Requesting State would understand the 
request.  
 
Items 7b and c: Pay close attention to describing the pleadings that give rise to the Letter of Request (i.e., 
the pleadings in support of which the evidence is sought). Detailed information may be necessary where a 
person is sought to be examined about a particular subject-matter (see item 10). 
 

 
Item 7d: Other documents may include judicial decisions that specify the nature and details of the evidence 
being sought. Remember that any attachment to the Letter of Request will need to comply with the language 
requirements. 
 
Item 8a: Where evidence is to be obtained, use items 9 to 11 to specify the evidence sought. Obtaining 
particular  material  or  performing  particular  acts  may  be  outside  the  functions  of  the  judiciary  of  the 
Requested State, in which case the Letter of Request risks being refused execution. If in doubt, refer to the 
practical information chart for the Requested State, or contact the Central Authority of the Requested State. 
 
Item 8b: This item is particularly important for Letters of Request issued in proceedings in common law 
jurisdictions, in cases where (a) the production of documents is sought, and (b) the  Requested State has 
declared  that  it  will  not  execute  Letters  of  Request  issued  for  the  purpose  of  pre-trial  discovery  of 
documents. To find out whether the Requested State has made such an “Article 23 declaration”, refer to 
the “Table Reflecting Applicability of Articles 15, 16, 17, 18 and 23 of the Hague Evidence Convention”. 
Where metadata of documents stored electronically is sought, specify clearly what type of information is 
needed, e.g., the authorship of a specific document, the number of times a document has been accessed 
and by whom, etc. In such cases, avoid requesting as evidence a hard drive or another computer device as 
that would likely be considered as a “fishing expedition”. 
 
Item 9: Providing complete and accurate information on the person to be examined is important to allow 
the requested authority to readily identify and notify that person. For a natural person, specify a residential 
address. The nationality, profession, date of birth of the person and the identification number may also be 
specified (if known). Where evidence is sought from a legal person, specify an authorised office and/or 
officeholder and the registration number.  Where evidence is sought from  multiple  persons, a separate 
Letter of Request may need to be issued for each person. If in doubt, contact the Central Authority of the 
Requested State to check whether separate Letters of Request are needed. 
 
Item 10: Questions should be drafted in a clear and concise manner, and should avoid vague and uncertain 
concepts that may not be understood by the requested authority. In addition, questions should be precise 
and  sufficiently  specific.  Vague  or  imprecise  questions  needlessly  complicate  the  task  of  the  requested 
authority in examining the witness or expert and may elicit unhelpful responses. The subject-matter of the 
examination should be clearly  defined, bearing in mind that the requested authority is unlikely to know 
more about the case than that which is specified in the Letter of Request (see item 7). The wider the scope 
of the subject-matter, the greater the need to give particulars. Questions may be specified in an attachment, 
in which  case,  ensure  that  the  attachment is clearly  identified  and  insert  a  reference to the  attachment. 
Remember that any attachment to the Letter of Request will need to comply with the language requirements. 
 
Item 11:  Documents  and  property  should be  specifically  identified. For  documents,  specify  the  author, 
recipient, subject-matter, and date (where known), as well as the name and address of the person from 
whom  the  documents  or  property  are  to be  produced.  Avoid  describing  the  documents  as  any  and  all 
documents within a class. The Requested State may have declared that it will not execute a Letter of Request 
issued for the purposes of pre-trial discovery of documents. To find out whether the Requested State has 
made such an “Article 23 declaration”, refer to the “Table Reflecting Applicability of Articles 15, 16, 17, 18 
and 23 of the Hague Evidence Convention”. Further information may also be available on the  practical 
information chart for that State. 
 
Item 12: The law of the Requesting State may require evidence to be given on oath or affirmation. It may 
also require a special form of oath or affirmation (e.g., the use of particular words, or the use of a particular 
person to administer the oath). The  requested authority is required to follow a request that evidence be 
given on oath or affirmation, and that a special form be used, unless it is (a) incompatible with the internal 
law of the Requested State, or (b) impossible of performance by reason of its internal practice and procedure 
or by reason of practical difficulties. To avoid delays from the request not being followed, use this item to 
specify whether evidence may be taken in accordance with domestic procedure in the Requested State. If 
in doubt as to whether a particular oath or affirmation may be administered, contact the Central Authority 
of the Requested State. 
 

Item 13: Evidence will be obtained applying the methods and procedures prescribed by the law of the

Requested State, which may be significantly different to those prescribed under the law of the Requesting

State. Nevertheless, the requesting authority may ask the requested authority to follow a special method or

procedure, to ensure that the evidence is obtained in a form that can be used in the proceedings; in such a

case, the Convention requires that the requested authority follow this special method or procedure

requested by the requesting authority, unless that method or procedure is (a) incompatible with the internal

law of the Requested State, or (b) impossible of performance by reason of its internal practice and procedure

or by reason of practical difficulties. Examples of common requests include the taking of a written witness

statement, the production of a verbatim transcript of oral examination, and the examination and cross-

examination of a witness by the parties or their representatives. Pay close attention to clearly specifying the

method or procedure to avoid delays in execution. It may be useful to provide an extract of the relevant

law or guidelines of the Requesting State by way of an attachment to the Letter of Request. Remember that

any attachment to the Letter of Request will need to comply with the language requirements.

Item 14: This item facilitates the implementation of Article 7 of the Convention, which entitles the parties

and their representatives to be present at the execution of the Letter of Request, either in person or by

video-link.

Item 15: This item facilitates the implementation of Article 8 of the Convention, which provides that

members of the judicial personnel of the requesting authority may be present at the execution of the Letter

of Request if (a) the Requested State has made a declaration to that effect, and (b) prior authorisation by a

competent authority designated in the declaration is granted (if such authorisation is required by the

Requested State). Judicial personnel may be present at the execution of a Letter of Request either in person

or by video-link. To find out whether the Requested State has made a declaration and the content of that

declaration, check the practical information chart for that State.

Item 16: This item facilitates the implementation of Article 11(1)(b) of the Convention, which provides

that a person may invoke a privilege or duty to refuse to give the evidence under the law of the Requesting

State if the privilege or duty has been specified in the Letter of Request. Pay close attention to clearly

specifying the privilege or duty to avoid delays in execution. It may be useful to provide an extract of the

relevant law of the Requesting State by way of an attachment to the Letter of Request. Remember that any

attachment to the Letter of Request will need to comply with the language requirements.

Item 17: The execution of the Letter of Request only gives rise to reimbursement of particular costs, such

as fees paid to experts and interpreters, costs occasioned by the use of a “special method or procedure”

(Art. 14(2)), and certain costs for which the Requested State is required to request reimbursement because

of constitutional limitations (Art. 26). To find out whether the Requested State requires reimbursement for

these costs, check the practical information chart for that State.