Letter of Request under Hague Evidence Convention
(Federal)

Summary

This letter of request under the Hague Evidence Convention is a standard form attorneys in a federal civil action can use to obtain evidence located in a country participating in the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague Evidence Convention). This letter tracks the Hague Evidence Convention’s requirements. This template includes practical guidance and drafting notes. The letter is commonly referred to as a Hague letter of request. You may use the letter of request to obtain evidence from one signatory country (i.e., a contracting party) to another signatory country without resorting to consular or diplomatic channels. The Hague Evidence Convention permits a U.S. court to submit a letter of request to the designated central authority of a contracting state in which the evidence is sought. See 23 U.S.T. 2555. The Hague Evidence Convention renders letters rogatory unnecessary. Each contracting state shall designate a Central Authority which will receive letters of request coming from a judicial authority of another contracting state. In the United States, the Office of International Justice Assistance of the United States Department of Justice is the Central Authority for the Hague Evidence Convention. When a judicial authority executes a letter of request, it applies its local laws to the methods and procedures to be followed unless the requesting contracting party specifies a special method or procedure. Upon request, the receiving authority will determine whether to allow the evidence sought. The Hague Evidence Convention does not replace the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if a foreign entity is a party to the lawsuit; nor is the Hague Evidence Convention the exclusive means for discovery for evidence in the territory of a foreign signatory. See Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale v. U.S. Dist. Ct., 482 U.S. 522, 542-543 (1987). Under Fed. R. Civ. P. Rule 28(b)(3), “[w]hen a letter of request or any other device is used according to a treaty or convention, it must be captioned in the template prescribed by that treaty or convention. A letter of request may be addressed ‘To the Appropriate Authority in [name of country].’ A deposition notice or a commission must designate by name or descriptive title the person before whom the deposition is to be taken.” Guidance regarding the requirements and format for a letter of request may be found on the U.S. Department of Justice’s website. This site also includes a proposed standard letter you may use for any letter of request pursuant to the Hague Evidence Convention. For more information relating to discovery under the Hague Evidence Convention, see The Wagstaffe Group Practice Guide: Federal Civil Procedure Before Trial § 34-II. For a full listing of key content covering fundamental civil litigation tasks throughout a federal court litigation lifecycle, see Civil Litigation Fundamentals Resource Kit (Federal).