PRACTICE DIRECTION

RSC ORDER 11 - SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION.

See also Schedule 1


THIS PRACTICE DIRECTION SUPPLEMENTS RSC ORDER 11 (SCHEDULE 1 TO THE CPR).

Matters to be included in claim forms:

1.1 CPR Part 7 provides that when particulars of claim are served on a defendant they must be accompanied by -

  1. a form for defending the claim;

  2. a form for admitting the claim; and

  3. a form for acknowledging service.

1.2 In addition, the particulars of claim must be accompanied by the complete Response Pack. The Response Pack must clearly state the appropriate period for responding to the claim form, as specified in this Practice Direction, and accordingly both Form N9 and Form N1C and other relevant forms must be amended.
1.3 Where the claim form is to be served in a place or country listed in the table below in accordance with paragraph 6.4, the particulars of claim, if not included in it, must accompany the claim form.
1.4 Where a claim form is served out of the jurisdiction without permission under Schedule 1, RSC O.11 r.1(2), it must include a certificate that the court has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 to hear the claim, and that no proceedings involving the same issues are pending between the parties in the courts of any part of the United Kingdom or any other Convention territory as specified in RSC O.11, r.1(2)(a)(i).
1.5 The usual form of words of the certificate will be:
    "We certify that the High Court of England and Wales has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 to hear this claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another Convention territory of any contracting state as defined by section 1(3) of the Act."
1.6 The usual form of words of the certificate where the proceedings begun by the claim form are proccedings to which Article 16 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act refers will be:
    "We certify that the High Court of England and Wales has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the claim having as its object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies in immovable property (or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act) to which Article 16 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act applies, to hear the claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another Convention territory of any contracting state as defined by Section 1(3) of the Act."
1.7 The usual form of words of the certificate where the defendant is a party to an agreement conferring jurisdiction to which Article 17 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act applies will be:
    "We certify that the High Court of England and Wales has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the defendant being a party to an agreement conferring jurisdiction to which Article 17 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act applies, to hear the claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another Convention territory of any contracting state as defined by Section 1(3) of the Act."
1.8 If a certificate under paragraph 1.4 is omitted, the issued claim form will be marked, "Not for service out of the jurisdiction."

Documents to be filed

2.1 The claimant must file the following documents for each person to be served -
  1. a request for service of the claim form by one of the methods under O. 11, rr. 5 and 6 or for service -

    1. under any order for service by an alternative method,

    2. in accordance with the law of the country in which service is to be effected,

    3. in a country which is a party to the Hague Convention of 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters1 in accordance with the provisions of that Convention,

    4. in a country in respect of which there subsists a civil procedure convention (other than the Hague Convention) in accordance with the provisions of such a convention,

  2. a sealed original of the claim form and accompanying documents,

  3. a duplicate copy of the claim form and accompanying documents,

  4. copies of the particulars of claim (see paragraph 1.3 above),

  5. the response pack amended as necessary (see paragraph 1.2 above),

  6. any translation required under RSC Order 11 rule 6(5) and paragraph 3.3, in duplicate;

    and

  7. a statement by the person making any translation that it is a correct translation, as required by RSC Order 11, rule 6(6), in duplicate.
2.2
  1. Care should be taken to ensure that the method of service requested under paragraph 2.1(1) is a method recognized in the country in which service is to be effected.

  2. Service in the countries listed in RSC O. 11, r. 6(1) should be effected by the claimant or his agent direct.
2.3 The request for service must include an undertaking under RSC Order 11, rule 8 by the person making the request -
  1. to be responsible for all expenses incurred by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and

  2. to pay those expenses to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on being informed of the amount.
2.4 RSC Order 11 rule 7(1) sets out the documents to be filed where a claimant wishes to serve the claim form on a State. The additional documents listed in paragraph 2.1 must also be filed in such cases.
2.5 Where the claimant files the documents specified, he must obtain a sealed copy and an ordinary copy and take them to the Foreign Process Office.
2.6 In certain countries the documents filed will require legalisation. The Foreign Process Office (Rm. E219, The Royal Courts of Justice) will advise as to particular cases.

Translations:

3.1 RSC Order 11 rule 6(5) provides that, except in certain specified instances (see paragraph 3.4 below), every copy of the claim form filed under RSC Order 11 rule 6 (service through judicial authorities, foreign governments and British Consular authorities) or RSC Order 11 rule 7 (service of claim form on a State), must be accompanied by a translation of the claim form.
3.2 RSC O.11 r.6(5) and (6) apply to particulars of claim where they are not included in the claim form.
3.3 Where a translation of the claim form is required under RSC 0.11 r.6(5), the claimant must also file a translation of the forms in the Response Pack.
3.4 Unless made necessary by the particular circumstances of the case, translations are not required where the claim form is to be served -
  1. in a country where English is an official language (Rule 6(5));

  2. by a British consular authority on a British subject, unless a Civil Procedure Convention expressly requires a translation (Rule 6(5));

  3. on a State in which English is an official language (Rule 7(1)(c)).
(It should be noted that English is not an official language in the Province of Quebec.)

Service with the permission of the court under certain Acts

4.1 RSC Order, rule 1 provides that a claim form may be served out of the jurisdiction with the court's permission if the claim is made under certain specified enactments.
4.2 These are:
  1. claims under the Nuclear Installations Act 19652,

  2. claims in respect of contributions under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 19923,

  3. claims for a sum to which the Directive of the Council of the European Communities dated 15 March 1976 No. 76/308/EEC applies, where service is to be effected in a member state of the European Economic Community,

  4. claims under the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 19944,

  5. claims under the Financial Services Act 19865,

  6. claims under the Banking Act 19876,

  7. claims under Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 19887, and

  8. claims under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 19878.

Service of other documents:

5.1 RSC Order 11, r.1(2) (service without the court's permission) and RSC Order 11, rule 1(1) (service with the court's permission) apply to service out of the jurisdiction of a petition, application notice or order as they apply to service of a claim form.
5.2 Applications to which this paragraph applies include applications made under CPR Rule 23.2(4) before a claim has been started; for example
  1. applications made under CPR Rule 25.4(1)(b) for order for disclosure, inspection etc, before a claim has been made, or

  2. orders for disclosure under CPR Rule 31.16 before proceedings have started.
5.3 RSC Order 11, rule 4 applies where appropriate to an application for permission to serve documents under this paragraph.
5.4 RSC Order 11, rules 5-9 apply to any document for which permission has been granted under this paragraph as they apply to a claim form.
5.5 Paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of this Practice Direction apply as appropriate to response to service of any other document as they apply to response to service of a claim form.

Period for responding to a claim form

6.1 Where the permission of the court is required, under RSC Order 11, rule 4, for a claim form to be served out of the jurisdiction, Rule 4(4) requires the order granting permission to specify the period within which the defendant may respond to the claim form.
6.2 RSC Order 11, rule 1A sets out period for filing an acknowledgment of service or filing or serving an admission where a claim form has been served out of the jurisdiction without permission under rule 1(2). 6.3. RSC Order 11, rule 1B sets out the period for filing a defence where a claim form has been served out of the jurisdiction without permission under Rule 1(2).
6.4 The table below specifies the periods for responding to a claim form which has been served out of the jurisdiction without permission-
  1. under RSC Order 11, rule 1(2) in a country not covered by rule 1A(2)or (3); or

  2. under rule 1(2)(a).
6.5 Where an order grants permission to serve a claim form out of the jurisdiction under RSC Order 11, rule 1(1), the periods within which the defendant may-
  1. file an acknowledgment of service in accordance with CPR Part 10,

  2. file or serve an admission in accordance with CPR Part 14, and

  3. file a defence in accordance with CPR Part 15,
which, in accordance with RSC Order 11, rule 4(4), are required to be specified in the order will be calculated having regard to the table below.

Period for filing acknowledgment of service or filing or serving an admission

7.1 This paragraph sets out the period for filing an acknowledgment of service under CPR Part 10 or filing or serving an admission under CPR Part 14 where a claim form has been served in a place or country listed in the table.
7.2 The period for filing an acknowledgment of service or filing or serving an admission is the number of days listed in the table after service of the claim form.
7.3 For example, where a defendant has been served with a claim form in the Bahamas, the period for acknowledging service or admitting the claim is 22 days after service.

Period for filing a defence

8.1 This paragraph sets out the period for filing a defence under CPR Part 15 where a claim form has been served in a place or country listed in the table.
8.2 The period for filing a defence is -
  1. the number of days listed in the table after service of the claim form, or

  2. where the defendant has filed an acknowledgment of service, the number of days listed in the table plus an additional 14 days after service of the claim form.
8.3 For example, where a defendant has been served with a claim form in Gibraltar and has acknowledged service, the period for filing a defence is 45 days after service of the claim form.

Address for service

9. CPR rule 6.5(2) provides that a party must give an address for service within the jurisdiction.

Service of application notice

10.1 Where an application notice or order needs to be served out of the jurisdiction, the period for responding to service is 7 days less than the number of days listed in the table.
10.2 When applying for a date for a hearing adequate time must be allowed for service of the response to the application notice or order.

Further Information

11.1 For further information concerning service out of the jurisdiction contact the Foreign Process Office (Rm. E219, The Royal Courts of Justice).

Table


Place or Countrynumber of days

Abu Dhabi22

Afghanistan23

Albania25

Algeria22

Angola22

Anguilla31

Antigua23

Antilles (Netherlands)31

Argentina22

Armenia21

Ascension31

Australia25

Austria21

Azores23

Bahamas22

Bahrain22

Balearic Islands21

Bangladesh23

Barbados23

Belarus21

Belgium21

Belize23

Benin25

Bermuda31

Bhutan28

Bolivia23

Bosnia-Hercegovina21

Botswana23

Brazil22

Brunei25

Bulgaria23

Burkina Faso23

Burma23

Burundi22

Cameroon22

Canada22

Canary Islands22

Cape Verde Islands25

Caroline Islands31

Cayman Islands31

Central African Republic25

Chad25

Chile22

China24

Christmas Island27

Cocos (Keeling) Islands41

Colombia22

Comoros23

Congo (People's Republic)25

Corsica21

Costa Rica23

Croatia21

Cuba24

Cyprus31

Cyrenaica (see Libya)21

Czech Republic21

Denmark21

Djibouti22

Dominica23

Dominican Republic23

Dubai22

Ecuador22

Egypt (Arab Rebublic)22

El Salvador (Republic of)25

Equatorial Guinea23

Estonia21

Ethiopia22

Falkland Islands and Dependencies31

Faroe Islands31

Fiji23

Finland24

France21

French Guiana31

French Polynesia31

French West Indies31

Gabon25

Gambia22

Georgia21

Germany21

Ghana22

Gibraltar31

Greece21

Greenland31

Grenada24

Guatemala24

Guernsey18

Guyana22

Haiti23

Holland (Netherlands)21

Honduras24

Hong Kong31

Hungary22

Iceland22

India23

Indonesia22

Iran22

Iraq22

Ireland (Republic of)21

Ireland (Northern)21

Isle of Man18

Israel22

Italy21

Ivory Coast22

Jamaica22

Japan23

Jersey18

Jordan23

Kampuchea38

Kazakhstan21

Kenya22

Kirgizstan21

Korea (North)28

Korea (South)24

Kuwait22

Laos30

Latvia21

Lebanon22

Lesotho23

Liberia22

Libya21

Liechtenstein21

Lithuania21

Luxembourg21

Macau31

Macedonia21

Madagascar23

Madeira31

Malawi23

Malaya24

Maldive Islands26

Mali25

Malta21

Mariana Islands26

Marshall Islands32

Mauritania23

Mauritius22

Mexico23

Moldova21

Monaco21

Montserrat31

Morocco22

Mozambique23

Nauru Island36

Nepal23

Netherlands21

Nevis24

New Caledonia31

New Hebrides (now Vanuatu)29

New Zealand26

New Zealand Island Territories50

Nicaragua24

Niger (Republic of)25

Nigeria22

Norfolk Island31

Norway21

Oman (Sultanate of)22

Pakistan23

Panama (Republic of)26

Papua New Guinea26

Paraguay22

Peru22

Philippines23

Pitcairn Island31

Poland21

Portugal21

Portuguese Timor31

Puerto Rico23

Qatar23

Reunion31

Romania22

Russia21

Rwanda23

Sabah23

St. Helena31

St. Kitts-Nevis24

St. Lucia24

St. Pierre and Miquelon31

St. Vincent and the Grenadines24

Samoa (U.S.A. Territory) (See also Western Samoa)30

Sarawak28

Saudi Arabia24

Scotland21

Senegal22

Seychelles22

Sharjah24

Sierra Leone22

Singapore22

Slovakia21

Slovenia21

Society Islands (French Polynesia)31

Solomon Islands29

Somali Democratic Republic22

South Africa (Republic of)22

South Georgia (Falkland31

Island Dependencies)

South Orkneys21

South Shetlands21

Spain21

Spanish Territories of North Africa31

Sri Lanka23

Sudan22

Suriname22

Swaziland22

Sweden21

Switzerland21

Syria23

Taiwan23

Tajikistan21

Tanzania22

Thailand23

Tibet34

Tobago23

Togo22

Tonga30

Tortola31

Trinidad & Tobago23

Tristan Da Cunha31

Tunisia22

Turkey21

Turkmenistan21

Turks & Caicos Islands31

Uganda22

Ukraine21

United States of America22

Uruguay22

Uzbekistan21

Vanuatu29

Vatican City State21

Venezuela22

Vietnam28

Virgin Islands - British (Tortola)31

Virgin Islands - U.S.A24

Wake Island25

Western Samoa34

Yemen (Republic of)30

Yugoslavia (except for Bosnia-Hercegovina Croatia Macedonia and Slovenia)21

Zaire25

Zambia23

Zimbabwe22

Endnote:

1November 15, 1965; TS50 (1969); Cmnd. 3986
21965 c.57
31992 c.4
41994 c.37
51986 c.60
61987 c.22
71988 c.33
81987 c.24


Return to the Practice Directions Index