The 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 Civil or Commercial Matters and on 30 July 2021, the Convetion came into force. This takes the total number of contracting parties to the Evidence Convention to 64.

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Conclusion of the Hague Service Convention: Exclusive Competence of the EU?

hcch logoLast month, we reported in Pietro Franzina’s guest post that the Council of the European Union was expected to authorise Austria to sign and ratify, and Malta to accede to, the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, “in the interest of the Union”. From a German or European perspective, this will have no practical effect, as European parties would not need to rely on the Hague Service Convention in any proceedings involving Austrian or Maltese parties, given the European Union’s Service Regulation. The decision, however, raises a wider issue, namely of the scope of the exclusive external competence of the European Union in such matters.  Continue reading

Hague Service Convention: Austria and Malta to Join

hcch logoThe Council of the European Union is expected to adopt a decision authorising Austria to sign and ratify, and Malta to accede to, the Hague Convention of November 15, 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. Continue reading

The Hague Conference: New Handbooks Published on the Service and Evidence Convention

hcch logoLast 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 Evidence Convention have been published. Continue reading