U.S. Embassy Luxembourg

22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais
L-2535 Luxembourg City
Luxembourg
Telephone: +(352) 4601-2300
Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(352) 4601-2323
Fax: +(352) 46-14-01
LuxembourgConsular@state.gov

U.S. Embassy Luxembourg

European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters - Luxembourg

Luxembourg is a party to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters.  Complete information on the operation of the Convention, including an interactive online request form are available on the Hague Conference website. Requests should be completed in duplicate and submitted with two sets of the documents to be served, and translations, directly to Luxembourg’s Central Authority for the Hague Service Convention. The person in the United States executing the request form should be either an attorney or clerk of court. The applicant should include the titles attorney at law or clerk of court on the identity and address of applicant and signature/stamp fields. In its Declarations and Reservations on the Hague Service Convention, Luxembourg formally objected to service under Article 10, and does not permit service via postal channels.. Any other methods of service, including attempts at service by mail, are considered ineffective in Luxembourg and an affront to its judicial sovereignty.

For additional information see the Hague Conference Service Convention web page and the Hague Conference Practical Handbook on the Operation of the Hague Service Convention. See also the Luxembourg’s response to the 2008 Hague Conference questionnaire on the practical operation of the Service Convention.

Service on a Foreign State: See also our Service Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) feature and FSIA Checklist for questions about service on a foreign state, agency or instrumentality.

Service of Documents from Luxembourg in the United States:  See information about service in the United States on the U.S. Central Authority for the Service Convention page of the Hague Conference on Private International Law Service Convention site.

Prosecution Requests: U.S. federal or state prosecutors should also contact the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division, Department of Justice for guidance.

Defense Requests in Criminal Matters:  Criminal defendants or their defense counsel seeking judicial assistance in obtaining evidence or in effecting service of documents abroad in connection with criminal matters may do so via the letters rogatory process.

Luxembourg is a party to the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters. Luxembourg’s Central Authority for the Hague Evidence Convention designated to receive letters of request for the taking of evidence is the Parquet Général près la Cour Supérieure de Justice. See the Hague Evidence Convention Model Letters of Request for guidance on preparation of the letter of request. Requests for the compulsion of evidence under the Hague Evidence Convention are transmitted directly from the requesting court or person in the United States to the Luxembourg Central Authority and do not require transmittal via diplomatic channels. Letters of Request and accompanying documents should be prepared in duplicate and translated into French or German.  See Luxembourg’s Declarations and Reservations regarding the Hague Evidence Convention. See also Luxembourg’s response to the 2008 Hague Conference questionnaire on the practical operation of the Hague Evidence Convention.  

 Requests from the Luxembourg to Obtain Evidence in the United States: The U.S. Central Authority for the Hague Evidence Convention is the Office of International Judicial Assistance, Civil Division, Department of Justice, 1100 L Street N.W., Room 8102, Washington, D.C. 20530.

Consular Depositions:  Depositions may also be taken of willing witnesses before U.S. Consular Officers only with the prior permission of the Luxembourg Central Authority, provided no compulsion is used. Luxembourg made a reservation when it acceded to the Hague Evidence Convention providing that the Parquet Général is designated as the authority competent to authorize the diplomatic officers or consular agents of a Contracting State to take, without compulsion, the evidence of persons other than the nationals of that State in aid of proceedings commenced in the courts of the State which they represent. Communications with the Parquet General must be in French or German parquet.general@justice.etat.lu.

This authorization is given or withheld on a case by case basis and may include specific conditions.  It is generally granted under the following conditions: 
1. the evidence shall be taken only within the precincts of an Embassy or Consulate; 
2. the Parquet Général shall be given reasonable advance notice of the time, date and place of the taking of evidence so that it can, if it wishes, be represented; 
3. a request to a person to appear shall, in accordance with the regulations, be in the form of an official document in French or German or accompanied by a translation into one of these languages stating: 
(a) that the evidence is to be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, concluded at The Hague on 18 March 1970, and in the framework of a judicial procedure followed in a jurisdiction designated by a Contracting State; 
(b) that the appearance is voluntary and that no prosecution in the requesting State will result from failure to appear; 
(c) that the parties to the action, where appropriate, consent to the taking of the evidence or are opposed to it for reasons to be given; 
(d) that the person requested to appear may be legally represented; 
(e) that the person requested to appear may invoke a privilege or a duty to refuse to give evidence."

Depositions Taken by a Commissioner:  The Parquet Général was also designated as the authority competent to authorize persons designated in accordance with the regulations as commissioners to take evidence without compulsion.

This authorization is given or withheld on a case by case basis and may include specific conditions.  It is generally granted under the following conditions: 
1. the Parquet Général shall be given reasonable advance notice of the time, date and place of the taking of evidence so that it can, if it wishes, be represented; 
2. a request to a person to appear shall, in accordance with the regulations, be in the form of an official document in French or German or accompanied by a translation into one of these languages stating: 
(a) that the evidence is to be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters, concluded at The Hague on 18 March 1970, and in the framework of a judicial procedure followed in a jurisdiction designated by a Contracting State; 
(b) that the appearance is voluntary and that no prosecution in the requesting State will result from failure to appear; 
(c) that the parties to the action, where appropriate, consent to the taking of the evidence or are opposed to it for reasons to be given; 
(d) that the person requested to appear may be legally represented; 
(e) that the person requested to appear may invoke a privilege or a duty to refuse to give evidence.

With the permission of the Luxembourg Central Authority, voluntary oral depositions or depositions on written questions may be taken by U.S. consular officers or by private attorneys from the United States or Luxembourg at the U.S. Embassy or at another location such as a hotel or office, either on notice or pursuant to a commission. If the services of a U.S. consular officer are required to administer an oath to the witness, interpreter and stenographer, such arrangements must be made in advance with the U.S. embassy directly.

Luxembourg is a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Public Documents. Luxembourg’s competent authority for the Hague Apostille Convention will authenticate Luxembourg public documents with Apostilles.  For information about authenticating U.S. public documents for use in Luxembourg, see the list of U.S. Competent Authorities.  To obtain an Apostille for a U.S. Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America, contact the U.S. Department of State, Passport Services, Vital Records Office.