Service Outside Of Canada - Complying With The Hague Service Convention

The Ontario Court of Appeal recently addressed the issue of whether Ontario courts may substitute, dispense with, or validate service of legal documents in countries that are parties to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the "Convention").

The Convention was put in place to streamline the procedure for serving documents in foreign counties. In countries that have become signatories or have otherwise incorporated the Convention (called "contracting states"), service is effective if the party seeking to serve documents follows the procedures set out by the Convention. The only exception to this obligation where "compliance would infringe its sovereignty or security". In this case, the contracting state must inform the applicant of the reasons for the refusal.