Obtaining Evidence In International Civil Matters

This presentation seeks to describe the process of judicial assistance for obtaining evidence in civil and commercial matters under The Hague Conventions, going more particularly into detail as concerns resolving conflicts between the common law and continental European law systems. It is based on experience concerning U.S. based pre-trial discovery proceedings to be executed on Swiss territory.

Let us say that the proceeding concerns an action for violation of U.S. federal racketeering statutes by engaging in a conspiracy to conceal the alleged effects of smoking and the alleged addictiveness of nicotine.

It is not self-understanding for Swiss authorities that racketeering statutes and the proceedings deriving from them are of a civil nature. Therefore, the U.S. Federal District Court issuing an order according to which the plaintiff is allowed to serve a Request for Supplementation of Document Production to one of the Defendants, which