Rogatory letters

Rogatory letters are a formal proceeding by a court to request that a court in another jurisdiction compel a witness to appear under oath to answer questions relevant to the determination of an issue of fact in the jurisdiction that issues the request. Such examination is usually performed with a list of agreed upon questions, and can be performed by an attorney in the target jurisdiction. In most cases, the examination is performed outside of court before a court reporter. Moreover, in most cases, the witness is willing to provide the testimony. However, the target court may compel the testimony of a witness who is unwilling to appear.

For example, a dispute arises in France regarding the ownership of a car that was allegedly stolen in Germany. The French court cannot compel any witnesses in Germany to appear before it. However, if the testimony of such witnesses is vital to the determination of the lawsuit, the French court can make a formal request that the German witnesses be examined under oath regarding their knowledge of the alleged theft.

Generally, the target court will agree to the request unless it violates a policy of the target jurisdiction. For example, in the United States, it is usually appropriate in a civil case to depose every available witness, while in Canada, you may only depose one witness from each party. However, a Canadian court would most likely agree to the pre-trial deposition of a witness who could be compelled to testify in the United States.