Bexit impact on service in the EU - January 2021

What changes has Brexit made to how we serve our EU clients?

Instead of serving documents under EU regulations, we will follow the Hague Conventions on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.

Under the Hague Convention, service requests are generally sent to a country’s Central Authority, which then arranges for service under that particular nation’s rules. For service within Scotland, this Central Authority is the Scottish Government.

If you are worried that this means you now need to go through extra steps to serve papers in Scotland, you should not be. The Scottish Government allows for service requests to be sent directly to Sheriff Officers. This includes requests from courts and judicial officers in EU countries, meaning that the process is as straightforward as ever.

The key difference is that our services now follow the terms of The Hague Convention rather than EU Regulation, but under Scottish government legislation, this will not make a significant change to our service.

So remember, you can still send service requests directly to Alex M Adamson

What changes has Brexit made to how we serve our UK clients?

If you want to serve documents in an EU country, you will need to follow their rules under the Hague Convention. Although these countries are in the EU, they all have separate Hague Convention Rules.

Under the Hague Convention, service requests are generally sent to a country’s Central Authority, which then arranges for service under that particular nation’s rules.

Details of the Central Authority and any variations on the general rule can be found here: HCCH | #14 - Authorities
Find out more about the Hague Convention: HCCH | #14 - Authorities

Service requirements

• The service fee is £171.01 including VAT.
• We may ask for payment in advance.
• English translation should be provided.