Are the Europeans prepared to provide evidence in aid of U.S. litigation?
Schimmel: That is a really good question. In 1980, France enacted what is called a “blocking statute.” This statute prohibits anyone from gathering evidence in France to prosecute or defend a claim in the United States or anywhere else except pursuant to an international convention. The penalties contemplated by the statute are up to six months in jail and a fine, but for many years that statute was not enforced in France. In December 2007, the French Supreme Court upheld the first criminal conviction for violating the blocking statute. If a litigant from the United States complies with the Hague Evidence Convention, however, the French courts will be accommodating and make available all or at least most of what is sought. The French courts are prepared for U.S. litigation, but increasingly they expect litigants in the United States to go through the Hague Evidence Convention. Editor: To what extent are these differences attributable to culture? Schimmel: Many of the differences betwee
