Declarations
Reservations
Articles: 4,8,16,23,35
Declarations:
28-07-2022
(Translation)
Amendment of the declaration of 27 April 1979:
A Letter of Request issued for the purpose of obtaining pre-trial discovery of documents pursuant to Article 23 of the Convention shall only be executed if
- the documents requested are described separately in detail,
- the documents requested are of immediate and clearly recognisable relevance for the respective proceedings and their outcome,
- the documents requested are in the possession of a party to the proceedings,
- the Letter of Request does not violate fundamental principles of German law and
- to the extent the documents requested contain personal data, the requirements for the transfer of personal data to a third country pursuant to Chapter V of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4 May 2016, p.1; L 314, 22 November 2016, p. 2; L 127, 23 May 2018, p. 2; L 74, 4 March 2021, p. 35) are met.
06-06-2018
The Federal Republic of Germany takes note of the Declarations submitted by Ukraine on 16 October 2015 regarding the application of the Convention on Civil Procedure (1954), the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (1961), the Convention on the service abroad of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters (1965), the Convention on the taking of evidence abroad in civil or commercial matters (1970), the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980) and the Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (1996) and the Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (2007) to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and of the Declarations submitted by the Russian Federation on 19 July 2016 in relation to the Declarations made by Ukraine.
In relation to the Declarations made by the Russian Federation, the Federal Republic of Germany declares, in line with the conclusions of the European Council of 20/21 March 2014, that it does not recognise the illegal referendum in Crimea and the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation.
Regarding the territorial scope of the above Conventions, the Federal Republic of Germany therefore considers that the Conventions in principle continue to apply to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as part of the territory of Ukraine.
The Federal Republic of Germany further notes the Declarations by Ukraine that the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol are temporarily not under the control of Ukraine and that the application and implementation by Ukraine of its obligations under the Conventions is limited and not guaranteed in relation to this part of Ukraine's territory, and that only the government of Ukraine will determine the procedure for relevant communication.
As a consequence of the above, the Federal Republic of Germany declares that it will only engage with the government of Ukraine for the purposes of the application and implementation of the conventions with regard to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
27-04-1979
A. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany makes the following declarations in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the Convention of 18th March 1970:
The Federal Republic of Germany makes the reservation provided for in the first sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the Convention excluding the application of the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Convention. Letters of Request to be executed under Chapter I of the Convention must, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 5 of Article 4 of the Convention, be in the German language or be accompanied by a translation into that language.
The Federal Republic of Germany declares in accordance with the option provided for in the first sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 33 of the Convention to make a reservation excluding the application of the provisions of Chapter II of the Convention that the taking of evidence by diplomatic officers or consular agents is not permissible in its territory if German nationals are involved.
B. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany makes the following declarations pursuant to Article 35 of the Convention of 18th March 1970:
1. The authority competent to execute a Letter of Request shall be the local court (Amtsgericht) in whose district the official act is to be performed.
2. Pursuant to Article 8 of the Convention, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany declares that members of the requesting court of another Contracting State may be present at the execution of a Letter of Request by the local court if prior authorization has been given by the Central Authority of the Land where the request is to be executed.
3. The taking of evidence by diplomatic officers or consular agents pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the Convention which involves nationals of a third State or stateless persons shall be subject to permission from the Central Authority of the Land where the evidence is to be taken. Pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 16 of the Convention, permission shall not be required if the national of the third State is also a national of the State of the requesting court.
4. A commissioner of the requesting court may not take evidence pursuant to Article 17 of the Convention unless the Central Authority of the Land where the evidence is to be taken has given its permission. Such permission may be made subject to conditions. The local court in whose district official acts would have to be performed by virtue of a Letter of Request in the same matter shall be entitled to control the preparation and the actual taking of the evidence. Under the second sentence of Article 19 of the Convention, a member of the court may be present at the taking of the evidence.
5. The Federal Republic of Germany declares in pursuance of Article 23 of the Convention that it will not, in its territory, execute Letters of Request issued for the purpose of obtaining pre-trial discovery of documents as known in common law countries."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands received the following Note from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany at The Hague on 15 October 1980:
"(...)
1. By Note of December 14, 1979, directed to the Ministry, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic made a statement concerning the declaration made by the Federal Republic of Germany at the time of the deposit of its instrument of ratification of the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters on April 27, 1979. This communication of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was circulated by a Notification of the Ministry dated January 22, 1980.
2. By Note of August 12, 1980, disseminated by a Notification of the Ministry of September 19, 1980, the Government of the United States of America, following consultations with the Governments of the United Kingdom and France, answered the assertions made in the communication of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The Governement of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the basis of the legal situation set out in the Note of the United States, wishes to confirm that the application in Berlin (West) of the above-mentioned Convention extended by it under the established procedures continues in full force and effect.
3. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany wishes to point out that the absence of a response to further communications of a similar nature should not be taken to imply any change of its position in this matter.
4. The Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany has the honour to request that the contents of this note be brought to the attention of the Governments of those States which have received or will receive the above-mentioned Notifications."