Legal Definitions - letter of request

A letter of request is a formal document issued by a court in one country to a court in another country, asking for assistance with a specific legal procedure. This tool is crucial in international legal cases when a court needs to perform an action that falls under the jurisdiction of a foreign nation. Unlike older methods that relied on diplomatic channels, letters of request, especially those under international treaties like the Hague Evidence Convention, allow for more direct communication between judicial authorities.

The primary purpose of a letter of request is to facilitate judicial acts abroad, most commonly:

• Taking Evidence: Gathering testimony from witnesses, obtaining documents, or inspecting property located in the foreign country.
• Serving Process: Officially delivering legal documents, such as summonses or complaints, to individuals or entities residing in the foreign jurisdiction.

To be effective, a letter of request must contain detailed information, including the identities of the requesting and receiving courts, the parties involved in the legal dispute, a description of the proceedings, the specific assistance required, and any particular procedures to be followed. It must also be presented in the language of the foreign court or accompanied by a translation, though many international agreements allow for English or French. Foreign courts generally honor these requests, unless doing so would conflict with their national security or fundamental legal principles.

Examples of a Letter of Request in Action:

• Example 1: Gathering Witness Testimony

  Imagine a lawsuit in a U.S. federal court where a plaintiff is suing a multinational corporation for patent infringement. A crucial witness, a former engineer for the corporation, now lives and works in Japan and cannot travel to the U.S. for testimony. The U.S. court could issue a letter of request to a Japanese court, asking it to compel the engineer to provide a deposition (sworn testimony) in Japan, under Japanese legal procedures, which would then be admissible in the U.S. case. This illustrates how a letter of request helps gather evidence across borders.

• Example 2: Serving Legal Documents

  Consider a divorce case initiated in an Australian court. One of the spouses has moved to Germany and refuses to acknowledge the divorce proceedings. To ensure the spouse is legally informed of the divorce petition and has an opportunity to respond, the Australian court would send a letter of request to a German court. The German court would then arrange for the official delivery, or "service," of the divorce papers to the spouse in Germany according to German law. This ensures due process is followed even when parties reside in different countries.

• Example 3: Inspecting Foreign Records

  Suppose a British company is being investigated for alleged financial fraud by authorities in the United Kingdom. Investigators discover that key financial records and bank statements related to the alleged fraud are held by a financial institution in Switzerland. To access these documents legally, a UK court could issue a letter of request to a Swiss court. The Swiss court would then oversee the process of compelling the Swiss bank to produce the relevant records, ensuring the evidence is obtained in compliance with Swiss law and can be used in the UK investigation. This demonstrates the use of a letter of request for obtaining documents and facilitating discovery in a foreign jurisdiction.