Deftly Organized
Each chapter is written and organized by legal professionals familiar with that specific nation’s process for obtaining discovery. Almost all chapters have an introductory section that explains the legal system in that country and states whether analogous U.S. discovery tools may be used in that nation. The availability of familiar discovery tools used in U.S. courts, such as interrogatories, depositions, and protective orders, is considered and meaningful context is provided to U.S. litigators to better appreciate the nuances involved in procuring discovery in foreign countries.
Most of those familiar discovery tools are surprisingly present in one form or another in the 25 nations outside of the U.S. that are examined in this book. The applicability of the 1970 Hague Convention or other multilateral legal framework in each country is explored in every chapter. To the extent alternative dispute resolution mechanisms exist in a foreign nation, it is considered and presented. Each chapter ends in a synopsis section entitled “Discovery Procedures in …” that summarizes key discovery items discussed in the prior pages, making this volume even more accessible than it already is.
Where Future Editions May Benefit
This book succeeds in providing guidance to cross-border litigators on discovery mechanisms in 25 nations outside the United States. Future editions may want to explore discovery in nations outside of those already explored in past volumes. In addition, the editors may want to consider providing more details in future volumes as to why the nations chosen were selected as nations where cross-border litigation tools may be helpful.
Some fastidious readers may think the absence of explanation for the inclusion of specific nations (and, ergo, the exclusion of others) in this volume may be a shortcoming rather than a tendentious, economical, approach to organizing a reference book. Future volumes may also limit content to specific continents or nations where cross-border litigation is particularly difficult to navigate. Noticeably absent from this volume is discovery detail on the Caribbean and Africa—only Puerto Rico and Nigeria are discussed in this volume. Nonetheless, this volume is particularly useful for those litigators interested in how to conduct discovery and obtain evidence from all G-8 nations, some Asia Pacific (APAC) nations, some nations that comprise Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and some Latin American nations.