[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR92.54]

[Page 383]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 92--NOTARIAL AND RELATED SERVICES--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 92.54  ``Letters rogatory'' defined.

    In its broader sense in international practice, the term letters 
rogatory denotes a formal request from a court in which an action is 
pending, to a foreign court to perform some judicial act. Examples are 
requests for the taking of evidence, the serving of a summons, subpoena, 
or other legal notice, or the execution of a civil judgment. In United 
States usage, letters rogatory have been commonly utilized only for the 
purpose of obtaining evidence. Requests rest entirely upon the comity of 
courts toward each other, and customarily embody a promise of 
reciprocity. The legal sufficiency of documents executed in foreign 
countries for use in judicial proceedings in the United States, and the 
validity of the execution, are matters for determination by the 
competent judicial authorities of the American jurisdiction where the 
proceedings are held, subject to the applicable laws of that 
jurisdiction. See Sec. 92.66 for procedures in the use of letters 
rogatory requesting the taking of depositions in foreign jurisdictions.