Declaraciones
Artículos: 4,8,16,17
Declarations:
In accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 4 of the Convention the Republic of Latvia declares that, besides the languages referred to in Article 4, it accepts letters of request also in Russian.
In accordance with Article 8 of the Convention the Republic of Latvia declares that members of the judicial personnel of the requesting authority of another contracting State may be present at the execution of a letter of request. Prior authorization by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia as the competent authority is required.
Persons wishing to obtain evidence within the Republic of Latvia under Article 16 and Article 17 of the Convention submit the respective application to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia.
04-04-2018
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia […] with reference to […] 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) has to honour to convey the following.
The Government of the Republic of Latvia takes note of the Declarations submitted by Ukraine on 16 October 2015 regarding the application of the aforementioned Conventions 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 Republic of Latvia 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.
As regards the territorial scope of the above Conventions, the Republic of Latvia 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 Republic of Latvia 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 Convention is limited and
not guaranteed in relation to this part of Ukraine's territory, and that only the central authorities of Ukraine in Kyiv will determine the procedure for relevant communication.
As a consequence of the above, the Republic of Latvia declares that it will not engage in any direct communication or interaction with authorities in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and will not accept any documents or requests emanating from such authorities or
through the authorities of the Russian Federation, but will only engage with the central authorities of Ukraine in Kiev for the purposes of the application and implementation of the convention.