Venezuela - Central Authority (Art. 2)

Central Authority(ies):

Ministerio del Poder Popular Para Relaciones Exteriores
(Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs)

Contact details:

Address: Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores
Dirección del Servicio Consular Extranjero
Oficina de Relaciones Consulares
(Ministry of People's Power of Foreign Affairs
Directorate of the Foreign Consular Service
Office of Consular Affairs)
Edificio Anexo a la Torre MRE, piso 1
Avenida Urdaneta – Esquina Carmelitas a Puente Llaguno
Caracas 1010
Venezuela
Telephone: +58 (0) 212-8064449/8020000
Ext. 6701-6704-6707-6708-6709- 6713.
Fax:  
E-mail: relaciones.consulares@mppre.gob.ve
exhortos.rogatorias@mppre.gob.ve
General website: http://www.mppre.gob.ve/
Contact person:
  • Yoimara Aurimar Meléndez Moro
    Director General de la Oficina de Relaciones Consulares
    Director- General of the Office of Consular Affairs
    Telephone: +58 (212) 8064449 / 802-8000 Ext. 6701-6713
    E-mail: yoimara.melendez70@mppre.gob.ve
  • Raquel Dayanna Diaz Vivas
    Directora del Servicio Consular Extranjero
    (Director of Foreign Consular Service)
    Telephone: +58 (212) 8064449 / 802-8000 Ext. 6713
    E-mail: Raquel.diaz64@mppre.gob.ve
  • Darío Andrés Márquez Colmenares
    Coordinador de Cooperación Jurídica Internacional
    (Coordinator for the International Cooperation Matter)
    Telephone: +58 (212) 8064449 / 802-8000 Ext. 6704
    E-mail: dario.marquez42@mppre.gob.ve
Languages spoken by staff:

Spanish, English

 

Practical Information

Blocking statutes: No blocking statute in force.

Chapter I
(Letters of Requests)

Transmission of Letters of Requests: Through the Central Authority (Office of the Consular Affairs).
Authority responsible for informing of the time and place of the execution of Letter of Request
(Art. 7):
NA (Not Applicable)
Presence of judicial personnel at the execution of the Letter of Request (Art. 8): NA (Not Applicable)
Privileges and duties existing under the law of States other than the State of origin and the State of execution
(Art. 11):
NA (Not Applicable)
Translation requirements
Arts 4(2) and 33):
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Shall not accept documents to be served unless they are accompanied by a corresponding translation into Spanish, because the Venezuelan reservation authorised by the article 33.
Costs relating to execution of the Letters of Request
(Arts 14(2)(3) and 26):
It is free.
Time for execution: Venezuelan law does not establish a period of time for services to be made.
Pre-trial discovery of documents
Art. 23):
“The Republic of Venezuela declares that it will only execute Letters of Request dealing with the procedure known in common law countries as pre-trial discovery of documents when the following conditions apply:
(a) that proceedings have been instituted;
(b) that the documents requested to be exhibited or transcribed shall be reasonably identified as regards their date, contents or other relevant information;
(c) that any facts or circumstances giving the plaintiff reasonable cause to believe that the documents asked for are known to the person requested to produce them so that they are or were in the possession or under the control or in the custody of that person, shall be specified;
(d) that the connection between the evidence or information sought and the pending litigation be made quite clear".
Information about domestic rules on the taking of evidence:   

Witness examination under Chapter I

Should Letters of Request include specific questions to be used during witness examination or only a list of matters to be addressed? It’s preferable it includes specific questions to be used during witness examination.
Is it a public or private hearing? Generally, the hearings are public but the judge can order a specific hearing be private.
Do the judicial authorities "blue-pencil" Letters of Requests (i.e. rephrase, restructure and / or strike out objectionable questions or offensive wording so that a Letter of Request may be executed under the laws of the requested State)? It depends. For ex. It could not be executed if the offensive wording is against any official authority or children.
Is the witness provided in advance with a copy of the questions / matters to be addressed as contained in the Letter of Request? He/she is not.
Are documents produced by the witness authenticated by the court? They are.
Is an oath generally administered to the witness? It is.
Can the witness be made subject to further examination and recall? She or he can.
Are there sanctions for non-appearance of witness? There are not.
Must interpreters who assist with the witness examination be court-certified? Must be.
How is the testimony transcribed?

According to the Article 485 of the C.PC. “(...). The witness statement shall be recorded in an act to be signed by the judge, the court clerk, the witness and the parties or their representatives, unless any technical means of reproduction or recording are used, in which case shall be proceeded as indicated in Article 189 of this Code.

All act of the court shall also be carried out in writing, under the dictation or instructions of the Judge, in clear and lay terms (Art.188 CPC.). (...) Statements by the parties, affidavits, witness statements and any other judicial proceedings to be recorded on the record may be taken through the use of some technical means of reproduction or recording of the act, at the request of the judge or at the request of any other party. In these cases, the recording shall be kept in the custody of the Judge (...) (Article 189 CPC).

Chapter II
(Taking of evidence by diplomatic officers, consular agents and commissioners)

Article 15 Not applicable.
Article 16 Not applicable.
Article 17 Not applicable.
Article 18 Not applicable.

Taking of evidence by video-links
(under either chapter)

Chapter I

Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? No information available.
Technology used: No information available.
Level of interpretation required: No information available.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: No information available.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? No information available.
Who pays for the interpretation? No information available.
How would a request for evidence be handled if witness not willing? No information available.

Chapter II

Are there legal obstacles to the use of video links? Not applicable.
Technology used: Not applicable.
Level of interpretation required: Not applicable.
Simultaneous or in sequence interpretation: Not applicable.
Interpretation required in which jurisdiction? Not applicable.
Who pays for the interpretation? Not applicable.

Other Information

Bilateral or multilateral agreements Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory (Panama City, 13 Junuary 1975). Additional Protocolo to the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory (Montevideo, 8 May 1979).
Useful links: See www.oas.org.
Competent authorities (Art. 17)  
Additional authorities (Art. 24)  

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