Sources
The complexity of harmonizing can be assessed considering the differences between the various agencies to intervene in the process. In the case of the Regulation, this issue was taken into account by the EU in establishing three separate entities each handling a specific role. These are called agencies and bodies. They are three different ones: the transmitting agency, the receiving agency, and the central body.
Each state communicates the various entities in its territory. A single entity can be at the same time a transmitting and a receiving agency and a central body.
To determine the different entities in each state, we should refer to the website of the European Judicial Atlas:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/html/ds_information_en.htmOther languages:Information is available in twenty-two of the twenty-three official languages of the European Union (Danish is missing).
The Transmitting Agencies
According to Article 2 of Regulation, they are responsible for the transmission of judicial or extrajudicial documents to be served or in another Member State to the receiving agencies. They have to check that the document to be transmitted complies with the scope of the Regulation. They have to inform the applicant of the faculty for the recipient to refuse the document for lack of translation according to Article 8. They also have to fill in the application form for service of the document. The agencies are the public officers, authorities or other persons designated by each State.
The Receiving Agencies
According to Article 2 of the Regulation, they are competent for the receipt of judicial or extrajudicial documents from another Member State. The receiving agency shall itself serve the document or have it served, either in accordance with the law of the Member State addressed or by a particular method requested by the transmitting agency, unless that method is incompatible with the law of that Member State. They fill the appropriate form to indicate to the sender the state of the procedure: acknowledgment of receipt, notice of return or request and document, notice of retransmission of request and document to the appropriate receiving agency, certificate of service or non-service of documents. They inform the recipient of his right to refuse to accept document for lack of translation in terms of Art. 8 using the form in Annex II.
The Central Bodies
According to Article 3 of the Regulation, they are in charge of various duties:
- Supplying information to the transmitting agencies;
- Seeking solutions to any difficulties which may arise during transmission of documents for service;
- Forwarding, in exceptional cases, at the request of a transmitting agency, a request for service to the competent receiving agency.
Under this mode of transmission, the procedure is as follows:
CIRCUIT SET OUT IN THE TRANSMISSION BETWEEN DESIGNATED AGENCIES
Transmitting Agency in the sending State → Receiving Agency in the State of destination → Addressee
How to find the Agencies?
I am looking for a receiving Agency. I choose the tab "
Receiving Agency" listed on the home page of the Regulation. A page will appear. I complete the fields and then I select the "magnifying glass" icon.
Note. It is imperative to enter the city name in the destination language. For example, for the Capital of Poland, “Warszawa” and not “Warsaw” should be registered.
