FEB. 9.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 213

competent to deal with it, such authority shall of its own
motion transmit the document to the competent authority
of its own country.
(d) The execution of the request for service can only be
refused if the High Contracting Party in whose territory it
is to be effected considers it such as to compromise his
sovereignty or safety.
(e) The authority which receives the request shall send to
the consular officer by whom it was transmitted the documents proving the service or explaining the reason which
has prevented such service. Proof of service shall be furnished
by a certificate from the authority of the country where
service has been effected, setting forth the fact, the manner,
and the date of such service. The document to be served
and the translation, if any, shall be forwarded in duplicate,
and the certificate shall appear on one of the copies, or be
attached to it.

Article 4.
The document to be served may also be served on the
recipient, whatever his nationality, without the intervention
of the authorities of the country in which service is to be
effected:
(a) By a diplomatic or consular officer of the High Contracting Party from whose territory the document emanates; or
(b) By an agent appointed by the judicial authority of
the country from which the document emanates, or
by the party on whose application the document
was issued. In the case of documents to be served
in Italy, such agent shall always be either a Notary Public or an Advocate, who shall employ for the act of service an official competent by Italian law for this purpose.
The document to be served shall be drawn up in the language of the country in which service is to be effected, or shall
be accompanied by a translation in such language, unless the
recipient is a subject of the High Contracting Party from
whose territory the document emanates.

Article 5.
The provisions of Articles 2, 3, and 4 shall not prevent the persons concerned from effecting service directly through the competent officials or officers of the country in which the document is to be served.

Article 6.
No fees of any description shall be payable by one High Contracting Party to the other in respect of the service. Nevertheless, in the case provided for in Article 3, the High Contracting Party making the request must pay to the other High Contracting Party any charges and expenses which are payable under the local law to the persons employed to effect service, and any charges and expenses incurred in effecting service in a special manner. These charges and expenses shall be calculated in accordance with the tariff in force in the country where the documents are served for subjects of the High Contracting Party applied to. Repayment of these charges and expenses shall be claimed by the competent authority from the consular officer by whom the request was transmitted when sending to him the certificate provided for in Article 3 (e).

Article 7.
Nothing in this Convention shall render illegal or inadmissible in territories of either High Contracting Party any mode of service which is not illegal under the law existing at the time of the service in the country in which it is to be effected.

III.-TAKING OF EVIDENCE.

Article 8.
When a judicial authority in any territory (to which this
Convention applies) of one of the High Contracting Parties
orders that evidence should be taken in any territory (to
which this Convention applies) of the other High Contracting
Party, such evidence may be taken in any one of the ways
prescribed in Articles 9, 11, and 12.

Article 9.
(a) The judicial authority may, in accordance with the
provisions of its law, address itself by means of “Letters of Request” to the competent authority of the other High Contracting Party, requesting such authority to take the evidence within its jurisdiction.
(b) The “Letters of Request” shall be drawn up in the
language of the authority to whom the request is addressed,
or be accompanied by a translation in such language certified as correct by a diplomatic or consular officer of the High

Contracting Party making the request, or by an official or sworn translator of one of the two countries concerned.
(c) The “Letters of Request” shall be transmitted—
In England, by an Italian consular officer to the Senior Master of the Supreme Court of Judicature in England:
In Italy, by a British consular officer to the Procuratore Generale presso la Corte d'Appello of the district in which the “Letters of Request” are to be executed.
(d) It shall be incumbent upon the judicial authority to which the “Letters of Request” are addressed to give effect thereto by the use of the same compulsory measures as are employed in the execution of a commission or order emanating from the authorities of its own country.
(e) The consular officer, by whom the “Letters of Request” are transmitted, shall, if he so desires, be informed of the date and place where the proceedings will take place, in order that he may inform the interested party or parties who shall be permitted to be present in person or to be represented if they so desire.
(f) The execution of the “Letters of Request” can only be refused—
(1) If the authenticity of the “Letters of Request” is not established;
(2) If in the country where the evidence is to be taken the execution of the “Letters of Request” in question does not fall within the functions of the judiciary;
(3) If the High Contracting Party applied to considers that his sovereignty or safety would be compromised thereby.
(g) In case the authority to whom they are addressed is without jurisdiction, the “Letters of Request” shall be forwarded without any further request to the competent authority of the same country in accordance with the rules laid down by its law.
(h) In every instance where the “Letters of Request” are not executed by the authority to whom they are addressed, the latter will at once inform the consular officer by whom they were transmitted, stating the grounds on which the execution of the “Letters of Request” has been refused, or the judicial authority to whom they have been forwarded.
(i) The authority which executes the “Letters of Request” will apply, so far as the procedure to be followed is concerned, the law of its own country.
Nevertheless, an application by the authority making the request that some special procedure may be followed shall be acceded to, provided that such procedure is not incompatible with the law of the country where the evidence is to be taken.

Article 10.
No fees of any description shall be payable by one High Contracting Party to the other in respect of the execution of “Letters of Request.”
Nevertheless, the High Contracting Party making the request shall repay to the other High Contracting Party any charges and expenses payable to witnesses, experts, interpreters, or translators, the cost of obtaining the attendance of witnesses who have not appeared voluntarily, and the charges and expenses payable to any person whom the competent judicial authority may have deputed to act in cases where its municipal law permits this to be done, and any charges and expenses incurred by reason of a special procedure being requested and followed.
The repayment of these charges and expenses may be claimed by the competent authority by whom the “Letters of Request” have been executed when sending to him the documents establishing their execution from the consular officer by whom they were transmitted. These charges and expenses shall be calculated in accordance with the tariff in force in the country where the request has been executed for subjects of such High Contracting Party so far as the same is applicable.

Article 11.
(a) The evidence may also be taken, without the intervention of the authorities of the country in which it is to be taken, by a diplomatic or consular officer of the High Contracting Party for whose judicial authority the evidence is required, or by some other person named by such judicial authority.
(b) The agent appointed to take the evidence may request named individuals to appear as witnesses or to produce any document and can take all other kinds of evidence which are not contrary to the local law and shall have power to administer an oath, but he shall have no compulsory powers.
(c) Requests to appear issued by such agent shall, unless the recipient is a subject of the High Contracting Party for whose judicial authorities the evidence is required, be drawn up in the language of the country where the evidence is to be taken, or accompanied by a translation into such language.