Declarations
Reservations
Articles: 4,8,18,213,24,27,33
(...) in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 and Article 33 of the Convention, the Sovereign Base Areas will not accept a Letter of Request in French.
In accordance with Article 35 of the Convention the following designations have been made:
(a) under Articles 16 and 17 of the Convention the Chief Officer, Sovereign Base Areas, is designated as the competent authority for the Sovereign Base Areas;
(b) under Article 18 of the Convention, the Senior Registrar of the Judge's Court of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is designated as the competent authority;
(c) under Article 24 of the Convention, the Senior Registrar of the Judge's Court of the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is designated as an additional authority competent to receive Letters of Request for execution in the Sovereign Base Areas.
Furthermore the following declarations have been made:
1. In accordance with Article 8, members of the judicial personnel of the requesting authority may be present at the execution of a Letter of Request in the Sovereign Base Areas.
2. In accordance with Article 18, a diplomatic officer, consular agent or commissioner authorized to take evidence under Article 15, 16 and 17 of the Convention may apply to the competent authority in the Sovereign Base Areas designated hereinbefore for appropriate assistance to obtain such evidence by compulsion provided that the Contracting State whose diplomatic officer, consular agent or commissioner makes the application has made a declaration affording reciprocal facilities under Article 18.
3. In accordance with Article 23, the Sovereign Base Areas will not execute Letters of Request issued for the purpose of obtaining pre-trial discovery of documents.
The administration of the Sovereign Base Areas understands "Letters of Request issued for the purpose of obtaining pre-trial discovery of documents" for the purposes of the foregoing Declaration as including any Letter of Request which requires a person:
(a) to state what documents relevant to the proceedings to which the Letter of Request relates are, or have been, in his possession, custody or power; or
(b) to produce any documents other than particular documents specified in the Letter of Request as being documents appearing to the requested court to be, or likely to be, in his possession, custody or power.
4. In accordance with Article 27, by the law and practice of the Sovereign Base Areas the prior permission referred to in Article 16 and 17 of the Convention is not required in respect of diplomatic officers, consular agents or commissioners of a Contracting State which does not require permission to be obtained for the purposes of taking evidence under Article 16 or 17.