PRACTICE DIRECTION 6B – SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION

PRACTICE DIRECTION 6B – SERVICE OUT OF THE JURISDICTION This Practice Direction Supplements FPR Part 6, Chapter 4

Scope of this Practice Direction

1.1

This Practice Direction supplements Chapter 4 (service out of the jurisdiction) of Part 6.

(Practice Direction 6A contains relevant provisions supplementing rule 6.43(2) in relation to the method of service on a party in Scotland or Northern Ireland.)

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Documents to be filed under rule 6.46(2)

3.1

A duplicate of –

(a) the application form or other document to be served under rule 6.45(1) or (2);

(b) any documents accompanying the application or other document referred to in paragraph (a); and

(c) any translation required by rule 6.47;

must be provided for each party to be served out of the jurisdiction, together with forms for responding to the application.

3.2

Some countries require legalisation of the document to be served and some require a formal letter of request which must be signed by the Senior Master. Any queries on this should be addressed to the Foreign Process Section (Room E02) at the Royal Courts of Justice.

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Service in a Commonwealth State or British Overseas Territory

4.1

The judicial authorities of certain Commonwealth States which are not a party to the Hague Convention require service to be in accordance with rule 6.45(1)(b)(i) and not 6.45(3). A list of such countries can be obtained from the Foreign Process Section (Room E02) at the Royal Courts of Justice.

4.2

The list of British overseas territories is contained in Schedule 6 to the British Nationality Act 1981. For ease of reference these are –

(a) Anguilla;

(b) Bermuda;

(c) British Antarctic Territory;

(d) British Indian Ocean Territory;

(e) Cayman Islands;

(f) Falkland Islands;

(g) Gibraltar;

(h) Montserrat;

(i) Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands;

(j) St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha;

(k) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;

(l) Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia;

(m) Turks and Caicos Islands;

(n) Virgin Islands.

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Period for responding to an application form

5.1

Where rule 6.42 applies, the period within which the respondent must file an acknowledgment of service or an answer to the application is the number of days listed in the Table after service of the application.

5.2

Where an application is served out of the jurisdiction any statement as to the period for responding to the claim contained in any of the forms required by the Family Procedure Rules to accompany the application must specify the period prescribed under rule 6.42.

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Service of application notices and orders

6.1

The provisions of Chapter 4 of Part 6 (special provisions about service out of the jurisdiction) also apply to service out of the jurisdiction of an application notice or order.

6.2

Where an application notice is to be served out of the jurisdiction in accordance with Chapter 4 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.

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Period for responding to an application notice

7.1

Where an application notice or order is served out of the jurisdiction, the period for responding is 7 days less than the number of days listed in the Table.

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Further information

8.1

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).

Place or countrynumber of days
Afghanistan23
Albania25
Algeria22
Andorra21
Angola22
Anguilla31
Antigua and Barbuda23
Antilles (Netherlands)31
Argentina22
Armenia21
Ascension Island31
Australia25
Austria21
Azerbaijan22
Azores23
Bahamas22
Bahrain22
Balearic Islands21
Bangladesh23
Barbados23
Belarus21
Belgium21
Belize23
Benin25
Bermuda31
Bhutan28
Bolivia23
Bosnia and Herzegovina21
Botswana23
Brazil22
British Virgin Islands31
Brunei25
Bulgaria23
Burkina Faso23
Burma23
Burundi22
Cambodia28
Cameroon22
Canada22
Canary Islands22
Cape Verde25
Caroline Islands31
Cayman Islands31
Central African Republic25
Chad25
Chile22
China24
China (Hong Kong)31
China (Macau)31
China (Taiwan)23
China (Tibet)34
Christmas Island27
Cocos (Keeling) Islands41
Colombia22
Comoros23
Congo (formerly Congo Brazzaville or French Congo)25
Congo (Democratic Republic)25
Corsica21
Costa Rica23
Croatia21
Cuba24
Cyprus31
Czech Republic21
Denmark21
Djibouti22
Dominica23
Dominican Republic23
East Timor25
Ecuador22
Egypt22
El Salvador25
Equatorial Guinea23
Eritrea22
Estonia21
Ethiopia22
Falkland Islands and Dependencies31
Faroe Islands31
Fiji23
Finland24
France21
French Guyana31
French Polynesia31
French West Indies31
Gabon25
Gambia22
Georgia21
Germany21
Ghana22
Gibraltar31
Greece21
Greenland31
Grenada24
Guatemala24
Guernsey21
Guinea22
Guinea-Bissau22
Guyana22
Haiti23
Holland (Netherlands)21
Honduras24
Hungary22
Iceland22
India23
Indonesia22
Iran22
Iraq22
Ireland (Republic of)21
Ireland (Northern)21
Isle of Man21
Israel22
Italy21
Ivory Coast22
Jamaica22
Japan23
Jersey21
Jordan23
Kazakhstan21
Kenya22
Kiribati23
Korea (North)28
Korea (South)24
Kosovo21
Kuwait22
Kyrgyzstan21
Laos30
Latvia21
Lebanon22
Lesotho23
Liberia22
Libya21
Liechtenstein21
Lithuania21
Luxembourg21
Macedonia21
Madagascar23
Madeira31
Malawi23
Malaysia24
Maldives26
Mali25
Malta21
Mariana Islands26
Marshall Islands32
Mauritania23
Mauritius22
Mexico23
Micronesia23
Moldova21
Monaco21
Mongolia24
Montenegro21
Montserrat31
Morocco22
Mozambique23
Namibia23
Nauru36
Nepal23
Netherlands21
Nevis24
New Caledonia31
New Zealand26
New Zealand Island Territories50
Nicaragua24
Niger (Republic of)25
Nigeria22
Norfolk Island31
Norway21
Oman (Sultanate of)22
Pakistan23
Palau23
Panama26
Papua New Guinea26
Paraguay22
Peru22
Philippines23
Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands31
Poland21
Portugal21
Portuguese Timor31
Puerto Rico23
Qatar23
Reunion31
Romania22
Russia21
Rwanda23
Sabah23
St. Helena31
St. Kitts and Nevis24
St. Lucia24
St. Pierre and Miquelon31
St. Vincent and the Grenadines24
Samoa (U.S.A. Territory) (See also Western Samoa)30
San Marino21
Sao Tome and Principe25
Sarawak28
Saudi Arabia24
Scotland21
Senegal22
Serbia21
Seychelles22
Sierra Leone22
Singapore22
Slovakia21
Slovenia21
Society Islands (French Polynesia)31
Solomon Islands29
Somalia22
South Africa22
South Georgia (Falkland Island Dependencies)31
South Orkneys21
South Shetlands21
Spain21
Spanish Territories of North Africa31
Sri Lanka23
Sudan22
Surinam22
Swaziland22
Sweden21
Switzerland21
Syria23
Tajikistan21
Tanzania22
Thailand23
Togo22
Tonga30
Trinidad and Tobago23
Tristan Da Cunha31
Tunisia22
Turkey21
Turkmenistan21
Turks & Caicos Islands31
Tuvalu23
Uganda22
Ukraine21
United Arab Emirates22
United States of America22
Uruguay22
Uzbekistan21
Vanuatu29
Vatican City State21
Venezuela22
Vietnam28
Virgin Islands – U.S.A24
Wake Island25
Western Samoa34
Yemen (Republic of)30
Zaire25
Zambia23
Zimbabwe22
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