Accession to the Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to the following proposals :
i) Accession to the Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters
ii) Designation of Central Authorities under the Convention.
This decision would establish a uniform procedure for sending, receiving and executing requests for the taking of evidence to and from the other States Parties. This would benefit the parties involved in the litigation by simplifying the process and assure greater certainty regarding admissibility of the evidence obtained before Indian Courts and thereby facilitate speedier settlement of cases by Indian courts.
At present there are 43 States Parties to the Convention which include countries where substantial Indian NRIs and PIOs are located and countries with which India has close trade and economic relations, such as Australia, USA, U.K., Germany, Russia, Sri Lanka and Singapore.
Separate bilateral agreements with the States Parties, as well as those States that may join the Convention later would not be required once India becomes party to this Convention.
Once approved by the Cabinet, the Instrument of Accession to the Convention will be deposited with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, which is the depositary for the Convention. Designation of the Ministry of Law & Justice and the high Courts in all States and Union Territories within India as the Central Authorities under the Convention would be conveyed to the depositary.
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YSR/DS/LV
(Release ID :23558)