The meeting included representatives from 20 countries (Brazil, Canada (Province of Quebec), Czech Republic, Finland, France, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Paraguay (in the person of Jose Raul Torres Kirmser, Minister of the Supreme Court), Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA, Venezuela), the European Union, and the UIHJ, in the person of its first secretary, Mathieu Chardon.
Christophe Bernasconi, Secretary General of the Hague Conference, highlighted the objectives of the three working days. As part of its mandate, the Hague Conference is responsible for developing a new manual on the Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters (the Evidence Convention) and revising the existing manual on the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Service Convention).
The work was chaired by Wiliam Fritzlen, Attorney Advisor, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC (USA), and conducted by Mayela Celis and Alexander Kunzelmann, both Senior Legal Advisors (Hague Conference), with several members of the secretariat of the Hague Conference, including Marta Pertegas, First Secretary, and John Thomas, Principal Legal Advisor. In an atmosphere both very studious and particularly pleasant the thirty participants debated and discussed each of the items of the two projects submitted to them.
Regarding the manual on the Service Convention, the aim was to revise the section on electronic service. This subject being constantly evolving since the 2006 manual, a revision proved necessary. To this end, the Hague Conference has produced a comprehensive document on all aspects of electronic service. It includes very complete information on the state of practice and jurisprudence elements in various countries, showing major practical, legal, jurisprudential and conceptual differences.
Participants were able to submit their comments and remarks, which were incorporated into the working papers. These revised documents will soon be sent to the member countries of the Hague Conference for additional comments. In May 2014, the Hague Conference will hold a Special Commission to which the UIHJ will participate to discuss the drafts so that they can be adopted according to the general consensus principle specific to this international organization.
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