Law Applicable to the Procedure for Notifying a Party of a Court Proceeding on the Territory of a Foreign State

Abstract

The paper examines the problem of legal uncertainty that arises when courts resolve the issue of the law applicable to the procedure for notifying a party to a court proceeding on the territory of a foreign state. The author identifies and considers two procedural stages at which the court is obliged either to determine in what order to notify the party, or to assess compliance with the notification procedure by another court. Based on the analysis of doctrine and law enforcement practice, the author identifies regulatory problems inherent in each procedural stage. The author concludes that, regardless of the procedural stage, there is no uncertainty about the applicable law if there is an international agreement between the States. The lack of an agreement makes law enforcement agencies look for alternative approaches that vary in practice. Based on a comparative analysis of approaches used in international practice, the author suggests ways available to the Russian regulator to overcome these problems in relation to each procedural stage.