The Hague Evidence Convention has streamlined the collection of evidence in cross-border cases, say Dhruv Anand, Achuthan Sreekumar and Udita M. Patro.
The Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters, more commonly known as the Hague Evidence Convention, aims to provide an effective means of reconciling differences between civil law and common law systems with respect to the taking of evidence, so as to improve judicial cooperation between member countries in civil and commercial matters.
The convention streamlines procedures for the taking of evidence. It allows the court of a contracting state (where a civil action is pending) to send a letter of request to a competent authority of another contracting state (within whose jurisdiction the evidence sought lies), to request the authority to obtain evidence that it needs.
This article was published in IBLJ April 2013.