Germany’s Position on Pre-trial Discovery Softens!

civ0062 - Hague ConventionYou 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 approach to discovery of documents under the Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, commonly known as the Hague Evidence Convention. The bill that would remove Germany’s reservation pursuant to Article 23 of the Convention* has been introduced into Parliament. It passed the Upper Chamber (Bundesrat) late last year without any objections. Continue reading

Effective Fact Finding vs. Information Overload: Too Much Paper in Arbitration? Mannheim Arbitration Conference, February 26, 2016

ICC Court of Arbitration LogoA one-day conference hosted by the University of Mannheim and co-organized with the ICC is devoted to the methods of establishing facts in international arbitration. Continue reading

Hague Evidence Conference: The Experts’ Group Issues Its Report

int-hcchThis 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 other Modern Technologies in the Taking of Evidence Abroad. Continue reading

Is Germany’s Position on Pre-trial Discovery of Documents under the Hague Evidence Convention Softening?

hcch logoIn 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 Convention is softening. In April 2014, the Federal Ministry of Justice came forward with a proposal to modify Germany’s position on discovery of documents and to allow it in certain circumstances. In this post, I try to summarize the various responses to this initiative. Continue reading