Hague Service Convention India
The service of judicial or extrajudicial documents done in accordance with the provisions of Hague Convention is the proper method of process service in India. This becomes more important when enforcement of court order is desired in India. However, this method of service involves government machinery and it takes quite a long time for the process to complete. You then will have to wait for certificate of service or delivery so that court proceedings can be started. We have a team of lawyers who can facilitate you by accelerating the process of serving the documents and save your time. After your attorney has filled in the Request Form and send it along with relevant documents to the Central Agency of India through post, you can share the details with us. Our team will ensure that the documents are served at the earliest and that the Certificate of Service is dispatched without delay.
Some important facts and provisions of The Hague Convention are mentioned below:
In 2006, India became a signatory to Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters i.e. Hague Convention. Thus, the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in India should be done in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Convention.
The Hague Convention does not apply if the summons or documents to be served are related to a criminal matter. This Convention also does not apply when the address of the person to be served with the document is not known.
India is opposed to the methods of service provided in Article 10 of the Convention which allows the service of documents by postal channels or through the judicial officers, officials or other competent persons of the State of destination. The documents should be served in India through the Central Agency of the country which is Department of Legal Affairs, The Ministry of Law and Justice.
The service of documents through the Central Agency generally takes more than six months and more than a year in some cases. According to Article 15 of The Hague Convention, if the document was transmitted by one of the methods provided for in the Convention and six months have elapsed but no certificate of service or delivery has been received from the Central Agency, the court may give judgment if it considers that a reasonable time has elapsed. However, the respective countries have to authorize their courts to do so.
We are a professional and ethical agency and the information provided on our website is based on our knowledge and experience in the field. Our motive is to provide clear and useful information to our clients so that they can take an informed and correct decision. In case you want to proceed for Hague Convention Service, make sure that the documents are posted to the right address. The postal address of Central Authority in India is mentioned below for easy reference:
Central Authority The Ministry of Law and Justice Department of Legal Affairs Room No. 439-A, 4th Floor A-Wing, Shastri Bhavan New Delhi 110001 India Phone: 011-23384945 Website: www.legalaffairs.gov.in