PRACTICE DIRECTION 6B

SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION.

See also Civil Procedure Rules


THIS PRACTICE DIRECTION SUPPLEMENTS SECTION III OF PART 6

Service in other Member States of the European Union

A1.1 Where service is to be effected in another Member of State of the European Union, Council Regulation (EC) No. 1348/2000 of 29 May 2000 on the service in the Member States of judical and extrajudical documents in civil or commercial matters (‘the Service Regulation’) applies.
A1.2 The Service Regulation is annexed to this practice direction.
(Article 20(1) of the Service Regulation provides that the Regulation prevails over other provisions contained in bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements concluded by the Member of States and in particular Article IV of the protocol to the Brussels Convention of 1968 and the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965)
  Originally published in the official languages of the European Community in the Official Journal of the European Communities by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

Service out of the jurisdiction where permission of the Court is not required

1.1 The usual form of words of the statement required by Rule 6.19(3) should be:-
‘I state 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’.
1.2 However, in proceedings to which Rule 6.19(1)(b)(ii) applies, the statement should be:-
‘I state 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’.
1.3 And in proceedings to which Rule 6.19(1)(b)(iii) applies, the statement should be:-
‘I state 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’.
1.4 A claim form appearing to be for service on a defendant under the provisions of Rule 6.19 which does not include a statement in the form of 1.1, 1.2 or 1.3 above will be marked on issue ‘Not for service out of the jurisdiction’.
1.5 Where a claim form is served without particulars of claim, it must be accompanied by a copy of Form N1C (notes for defendants).

SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION WHERE PERMISSION IS REQUIRED

Documents to be filed under Rule 6.26(2)(d)

2.1 A complete set of the following documents must be provided for each party to be served out of the jurisdiction

  1. A copy of particulars of claim if not already incorporated in or attached to the claim.
  2. A duplicate of the claim form of the particulars of claim and of any documents accompanying the claim and of any translation required by Rule 6.28.
  3. Forms for responding to the claim;
  4. Any translation required under Rule 6.28 and paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2, in duplicate.
2.2 The documents to be served in certain countries require legalisation and the Foreign Process Section (Room E02), Royal Courts of Justice will advise on request. Some countries require legislation and some require a formal letter of request, see Form No. 34 to Table 2 of Practice Direction to Part 4 which must be signed by the Senior Master of the Queen’s Bench Division irrespective of the Division of the High Court or any county court in which the order was made.

Service in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Commonwealth countries and United Kingdom Overseas Territories.

3.1 The requirements of Section III of Part 6, do not apply to the countries listed in Rule 6.25(4) and service should be effected by the claimant or his agent direct except in the case of a Commonwealth State where the judicial authorities have required service to be in accordance with Rule 6.24(1)(b)(i). These are presently Malta and Singapore.
3.2 For the purposes of Rule 6.25(4)(c), the following countries are United Kingdom Overseas Territories:-

  1. Anguilla;
  2. Bermuda;
  3. British Antarctic Territory;
  4. British Indian Ocean Territory;
  5. Cayman Islands;
  6. Falkland Islands;
  7. Gibraltar;
  8. Montserrat;
  9. Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno;
  10. St. Helena and Dependencies;
  11. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
  12. Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia;
  13. Turks and Caicos Islands; and
  14. Virgin Islands.

Translations

4.1 Rule 6.28 applies to particulars of claim not included in a claim form as well as to claim forms.
4.2 Where a translation of a claim form is required under Rule 6.28, the claimant must also file a translation of all the forms that will accompany the claim form.
(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

5.1 Rule 6.20(18) provides that a claim form may be served out of the jurisdiction with the Court’s permission if the claim is made under an enactment specified in the relevant Practice Direction.
5.2 These enactments are:

  1. The Nuclear Installations Act 1965,
  2. The Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992,
  3. The Directive of the Council of the European Communities dated 15 March 1976 No. 76/308/EEC, where service is to be effected in a member state of the European Union,
  4. The Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1994,
  5. The Financial Services Act 1986,
  6. The Banking Act 1987,
  7. Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988,
  8. The Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1987,
  9. Part II of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999,
  10. Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971.
5.3 Under the State Immunity Act 1978, the foreign state being served is allowed an additional two months over the normal period for filing an acknowledgment of service or defence or for filing or serving an admission allowed under paragraphs 7.3 and 7.4.

Service of petitions, application notices and orders

6.1 The provisions of Section III of Part 6 (special provisions about service out of the jurisdiction) apply to service out of the jurisdiction of a petition, application notice or order.
(Rule 6.30(1) contains special provisions relating to application notices).
6.2 Where an application notice is to be served out of the jurisdiction in accordance with Section III of Part 6 the Court must have regard to the country in which the application notice is to be served in setting the date for the hearing of the application and giving any direction about service of the respondent’s evidence.
6.3 Where the permission of the Court is required for a claim form to be served out of the jurisdiction the permission of the Court, unless rule 6.30(3) applies, must also be obtained for service out of the jurisdiction of any other document to be served in the proceedings and the provisions of this Practice Direction will, so far as applicable to that other document, apply.
6.4 When particulars of claim are served out of the jurisdiction any statement as to the period for responding to the claim contained in any of the forms required by Rule 7.8 to accompany the particulars of claim must specify the period prescribed under Rule 6.22 or 6.23 or (as the case may be) by the order permitting service out of the jurisdiction (see Rule 6.21(4)).

Period for responding to a claim form

7.1 Where a claim form has been served out of the jurisdiction without permission under Rule 6.19 -

  1. Rule 6.22 sets out the period for filing an acknowledgement of service or filing or serving an admission;
  2. Rule 6.23 sets out the period for filing a defence.
7.2 Where an order grants permission to serve a claim form out of the jurisdiction, the periods within which the defendant may -

  1. file an acknowledgment of service
  2. file or serve an admission;
  3. file a defence
will be calculated in accordance with paragraphs 7.3 and 7.4 having regard to the Table below.
(Rule 6.21(4) requires an order giving permission for a claim form to be served out of the jurisdiction to specify the period within which the defendant may respond to the claim form).
7.3 The period for filing an acknowledgment of service under Part 10 or filing or serving an admission under Part 14 is -

  1. where the defendant is served with a claim form which states that particulars of claim are to follow, the number of days listed in the Table after service of the particulars of claim; and
  2. in any other case, the number of days listed in the Table after service of the claim form.
For example: where a defendant has been served with a claim form (accompanied by particulars of claim) in the Bahamas, the period for acknowledging service or admitting the claim is 22 days after service.
7.4 The period for filing a defence under Part 15 is -

  1. the number of days listed in the Table after service of the particulars of claim, 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 the service of the particulars of claim.
For example, where a defendant has been served with particulars of claim in Gibraltar and has acknowledged service, the period for filing a defence is 45 days after service of the particulars of claim.

Period for responding to an application notice

8.1 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.

Civil Jurisdiction and Judgment Act 1982

9.1 The following countries are parties to this Act:-

Austria Italy
Belgium Luxembourg
Denmark Netherlands
France Norway
Finland Portugal
Germany Scotland
Gibraltar Spain
Greece Switzerland
Iceland Sweden
Ireland  

Address for service & further information

10.1 A defendant is required by Rule 6.5(2) to give an address for service within the jurisdiction.
10.2 Further information concerning service out of the jurisdiction can be obtained from the Foreign Process Section, Room E02, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL (telephone 020 7947 6691).
 

TABLE

PLACE OR COUNTRY NUMBER OF DAYS
Abu Dhabi 22
Afghanistan 23
Albania 25
Algeria 22
Angola 22
Anguilla 31
Antigua 23
Antilles (Netherlands) 31
Argentina 22
Armenia 21
Ascension 31
Australia 25
Austria 21
Azores 23
Bahamas 22
Bahrain 22
Balearic Islands 21
Bangladesh 23
Barbados 23
Belarus 21
Belgium 21
Belize 23
Benin 25
Bermuda 31
Bhutan 28
Bolivia 23
Bosnia-Hercegovina 21
Botswana 23
Brazil 22
Brunei 25
Bulgaria 23
Burkina Faso 23
Burma 23
Burundi 22
Cameroon 22
Canada 22
Canary Islands 22
Cape Verde Islands 25
Caroline Islands 31
Cayman Islands 31
Central African Republic 25
Chad 25
Chile 22
China 24
Christmas Island 27
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 41
Colombia 22
Comoros 23
Congo (People’s Republic) 25
Corsica 21
Costa Rica 23
Croatia 21
Cuba 24
Cyprus 31
Cyrenaica (see Libya) 21
Czech Republic 21
Denmark 21
Djibouti 22
Dominica 23
Dominican Republic 23
Dubai 22
Ecuador 22
Egypt (Arab Rebublic) 22
El Salvador (Republic of) 25
Equatorial Guinea 23
Estonia 21
Ethiopia 22
Falkland Islands and Dependencies 31
Faroe Islands 31
Fiji 23
Finland 24
France 21
French Guiana 31
French Polynesia 31
French West Indies 31
Gabon 25
Gambia 22
Georgia 21
Germany 21
Ghana 22
Gibraltar 31
Greece 21
Greenland 31
Grenada 24
Guatemala 24
Guernsey 18
Guyana 22
Haiti 23
Holland (Netherlands) 21
Honduras 24
Hong Kong 31
Hungary 22
Iceland 22
India 23
Indonesia 22
Iran 22
Iraq 22
Ireland (Republic of) 21
Ireland (Northern) 21
Isle of Man 18
Israel 22
Italy 21
Ivory Coast 22
Jamaica 22
Japan 23
Jersey 18
Jordan 23
Kampuchea 38
Kazakhstan 21
Kenya 22
Kirgizstan 21
Korea (North) 28
Korea (South) 24
Kuwait 22
Laos 30
Latvia 21
Lebanon 22
Lesotho 23
Liberia 22
Libya 21
Liechtenstein 21
Lithuania 21
Luxembourg 21
Macau 31
Macedonia 21
Madagascar 23
Madeira 31
Malawi 23
Malaya 24
Maldive Islands 26
Mali 25
Malta 21
Mariana Islands 26
Marshall Islands 32
Mauritania 23
Mauritius 22
Mexico 23
Moldova 21
Monaco 21
Montserrat 31
Morocco 22
Mozambique 23
Nauru Island 36
Nepal 23
Netherlands 21
Nevis 24
New Caledonia 31
New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) 29
New Zealand 26
New Zealand Island Territories 50
Nicaragua 24
Niger (Republic of) 25
Nigeria 22
Norfolk Island 31
Norway 21
Oman (Sultanate of) 22
Pakistan 23
Panama (Republic of) 26
Papua New Guinea 26
Paraguay 22
Peru 22
Philippines 23
Pitcairn Island 31
Poland 21
Portugal 21
Portuguese Timor 31
Puerto Rico 23
Qatar 23
Reunion 31
Romania 22
Russia 21
Rwanda 23
Sabah 23
St. Helena 31
St. Kitts-Nevis 24
St. Lucia 24
St. Pierre and Miquelon 31
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 24
Samoa (U.S.A. Territory) (See also Western Samoa) 30
Sarawak 28
Saudi Arabia 24
Scotland 21
Senegal 22
Seychelles 22
Sharjah 24
Sierra Leone 22
Singapore 22
Slovakia 21
Slovenia 21
Society Islands (French Polynesia) 31
Solomon Islands 29
Somali Democratic Republic 22
South Africa (Republic of) 22
South Georgia (Falkland Island Dependencies) 31
South Orkneys 21
South Shetlands 21
Spain 21
Spanish Territories of North Africa 31
Sri Lanka 23
Sudan 22
Suriname 22
Swaziland 22
Sweden 21
Switzerland 21
Syria 23
Taiwan 23
Tajikistan 21
Tanzania 22
Thailand 23
Tibet 34
Tobago 23
Togo 22
Tonga 30
Tortola 31
Trinidad & Tobago 23
Tristan Da Cunha 31
Tunisia 22
Turkey 21
Turkmenistan 21
Turks & Caicos Islands 31
Uganda 22
Ukraine 21
United States of America 22
Uruguay 22
Uzbekistan 21
Vanuatu 29
Vatican City State 21
Venezuela 22
Vietnam 28
Virgin Islands - British (Tortola) 31
Virgin Islands - U.S.A 24
Wake Island 25
Western Samoa 34
Yemen (Republic of) 30
Yugoslavia (except for Bosnia-Hercegovina Croatia Macedonia and Slovenia) 21
Zaire 25
Zambia 23
Zimbabwe 22

Council Regulation CR1348/2000 is available as PDF

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