Serving summons and other documents in Foreign Jurisdictions, as provided under the Hague Service Convention

Starting 01 October 2020, the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters (“Service Convention”) shall enter into force in the Philippines.

The Service Convention provides for the different channels through which a judicial or extrajudicial document may be transmitted from one State Party (Requesting State) to another (Requested State). Articles 2 and 18 of the Service Convention provide that State Parties must designate a Central Authority and/or other authorities to undertake the requests for such service of documents. Currently, for the Philippines, the Central Authority is the Office of the Court Administrator (“OCA”) of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

In relation to this, the Supreme Court recently issued the Guidelines on the Implementation of the Service Convention in the Philippines.[1] Under the said Guidelines, the Service Convention shall apply if the following conditions[2]are met:

1. the document to be served is to be transmitted from one State Party to another State Party (a list of Parties to the Service Convention may be viewed here.);
2. the address of the intended recipient in the receiving State Party is known[3];
3. the document to be served is a judicial document[4];
4. the document to be served relates to a civil or commercial matter.

For Outbound Requests for Extraterritorial Service

(from the Philippines to Other State parties)

A party in a civil or commercial proceeding may file a motion for leave of court, in accordance with Rules 13 and 14 of the Rules of Court, as amended, together with the following documents in duplicate:

1. Model Form (including the Request, Certificate, Summary of Documents to be Serviced, Warning – copies of which may be accessed here)
2. Original documents to be served or certified true copies, with annexes;
3. Certified Translations of the aforementioned documents, if necessary for the Requested State;
4. Undertaking to pay in full any fees associated with the service of the documents. According to Part II, Section 3 of the Guidelines, failure to settle the fees shall be a ground for direct contempt of court in addition to other sanctions allowed under the Rules of Court, as amended;
5. Other requirements of the Requested State (reservations, declarations and notifications of the State Parties may be found here).

The court will then evaluate if the extraterritorial service under the Service Convention is necessary and its Order shall “include a directive to the requesting party to procure and submit a prepaid courier pouch which shall be used for the transmission of documents from the court to the Central Authority of the Requested State.”[5]

The court shall then coordinate with the Central Authority of the Requested State and transmit the (i) Order granting extraterritorial service, (ii) the accomplished Request and Summary of Document to be Served with Warning, (iii) the blank Certificate to be filled out by the said Central Authority, (iv) documents for service, and (v) certified translations of the Model form and accompanying documents, if necessary. The OCA should also be furnished with a copy of the request and update on the status of the request for extraterritorial service.[6]

Once the Central Authority of the Requested State processes and attempts the service in accordance with its domestic laws, it shall provide a Certificate whether the service was successful or not. The accomplished Certificate shall be transmitted back to the requesting court and shall form part of the records of the case.[7]

For Inbound Requests for Extraterritorial Service

(from other State Parties to the Philippines)

All requests for extraterritorial service of documents originating from other State Parties shall be referred to the OCA. To be a valid request, Part III, Section 2 of the Guidelines provides the following requirements:

1. The documents sought to be served are judicial;
2. The Request conforms to the Model Form;
3. The document sought to be served is attached to the Request;
4. The Request and its attachments are accomplished/translated in English or Filipino;
5. The Request and its attachment/s are filed in duplicate; and
6. The address of the intended recipient is indicated with sufficient specificity (i.e. house number, building, street name, barangay, municipality/city, province, zip code). Note that post office boxes shall not be allowed;
7. Payment of US$100.00 for each recipient (or each address, in case of multiple recipients residing in the same address) to be served as the cost of service. The OCA shall send an updated Statement of Cost in case of a higher cost of service. For the payment methods, kindly check the OCA website.

These requirements may be submitted via electronic mail or registered mail or courier services (see Part III, Section 4 of the Guidelines).

Upon OCA’s evaluation of the sufficiency of the requirements, it shall forward the request to the court having jurisdiction over the area where the intended recipient resides.[8] The Executive Judge or the Presiding Judge shall then assign a sheriff, process server, or other competent personnel to effect service in accordance with the Rules of Court, as amended.[9]A Return shall be executed and submitted to the same judge within five (5) days from service. If unserved, the officer shall return the document to the court to be forwarded to the OCA.[10] The judge shall also issue a Certificate following the Model Form and submit it to the OCA together with the Return within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of the request. Expenses that may be incurred for the service shall be advanced by the concerned Judge, subject to reimbursement the request for which must be submitted to the OCA.

Click here to read the full text of the Service Convention. The FAQs are also available here.

Click here to read the Guidelines on the Implementation in the Philippines of the Hague Service Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters.

The list of Parties to the Service Convention and their respective reservations may be viewed here.

[1] SC En Banc Administrative Order No. 251-2020, Guidelines on the Implementation in the Philippines of the Hague Service Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters, 16 September 2020 available http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/135... (last accessed 20 September 2020).

[2] Section 2 of the Guidelines.

[3] Service Convention, art. 1 states “This Convention shall not apply where the address of the person to be served with the document is not known.”

[4] Part I, Section 5 (f) of the Guidelines defines Judicial Documentas “orders, resolutions, judgments or other official documents issued by courts in relation to civil or commercial proceedings, as well as pleadings and other court submissions by parties to such civil or commercial proceedings[.]”

[5] Part II, Section 2 of the Guidelines.

[6] Part II, Section 4 of the Guidelines.

[7] Part II, Section 7 of the Guidelines. (Note: Part II, Sections 5 and 6 were missing in the Guidelines).

[8] Part III, Section 6 of the Guidelines.

[9] Part III, Section 7 of the Guidelines.

[10] Part III, Section 8 of the Guidelines.