från "Engelsk Affärsordbok"

WHAT IS A LETTER ROGATORY: A letter rogatory is a formal request from a court in one country to "the appropriate judicial authorities" in another country requesting compulsion of testimony or documentary or other evidence or effect service of process. Although statutory authority generally refers to the instrument as a "letter rogatory", the terms "letter rogatory" and "letter of request" (which is used specifically in the Hague Evidence Convention) have come to be virtually synonymous in actual practice. (See Epstein & Snyder, International Litigation: A Guide to Jurisdiction, Practice & Strategy, 2nd. Sec. 10.09, p. 10.13 -10.14.; Black's Law Dictionary (6th ed. 1994), Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(f)(2)(B) Advisory Committee's Note (West Supp. 1993).) In some countries which do not permit the taking of depositions of willing witnesses, letters rogatory are the only method of obtaining evidence or serve process. Letters rogatory can be used in civil and criminal matters, and have been used in administrative matters. The execution of a request for judicial assistance by the foreign court is based on comity between nations, absent a specific treaty obligation such as the Hague Evidence Convention or Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLAT) treaties. See our general flyer on "Obtaining Evidence Abroad" or the "Hague Evidence Convention" for a further discussion of these subjects. Consular Conventions generally include language which authorizes transmission of letters rogatory through diplomatic channels. This does not obligate the foreign country to execute the request, but simply provides a formal avenue by which the requests may be made. If there is no Consular Convention in force between the United States and the foreign country, letters rogatory are received by foreign authorities on the basis of comity. Letters rogatory are a time consuming, cumbersome process and should not be utilized unless there are no other options available.

HOW IS A LETTER ROGATORY EXECUTED: The foreign court will execute a letter rogatory in accordance with the laws and regulations of the foreign country. In obtaining evidence, for example, in most cases an American attorney will not be permitted to participate in such a proceeding. Occasionally a local, foreign attorney may be permitted to attend such a proceeding and even to put forth additional questions to the witness. Not all foreign countries utilize the services of court reporters or routinely provide verbatim transcripts. Sometimes the presiding judge will dictate his recollection of the witness's responses. See Born & Westin, 305, 308; Ristau, International Judicial Assistance, Sec. 3-2-1 (4), p. 79 (1995 supp.); Epstein & Snyder, Sec. 10.09, p. 10-13 - 10-16 (1994 supp). See discussion below on drafting a letter rogatory which takes these peculiarities into account.

"Rättshjälp" has a special meaning in Swedish; it is therefore not advisable to translate the term with "rättshjäpsbegäran".