Third update of information communicated by Member States under Article 23(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000 of 29 May 2000 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters(1)

(2002/C 13/02)

1. The introduction is worded as follows: "INTRODUCTION

This Official Journal contains some of the information which must be published pursuant to Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000(2). This is the information communicated by Member States pursuant to Articles 2 (transmitting agencies), 3, 4, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15 and 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000. The information concerning receiving agencies is published separately in a manual(3).

It should be pointed out that the Regulation does not apply to Denmark.

As regards Article 14, the fact that a Member State has not communicated a specific language requirement means implicitly that the language requirements of Article 8 are applicable."

2. Germany: the information for Germany is replaced by the following: "GERMANY

Article 2

Transmitting agencies

The transmitting agency for judicial documents is the court serving the document (Section 4(1), point 1, of the EU Service of Documents Implementation Act (ZustDG).

The transmitting agency for extrajudicial documents is the district court (/Amtsgericht) of the /district (/Bezirk) in which the person serving the document is domiciled or habitually resident; in the case of notarised deeds, it is also the district court of the district in which the office of the notarising notary is located; in the case of legal persons, it is the district court of the district in which the head office is located; the Land governments may, by statutory order, allocate the tasks of transmitting agency for the districts of several district courts to a single district court (Section 4(3) of the EU Service of Documents Implementation Act).

Article 3

Central bodies

The task of the central body is performed in each Land by one of the bodies determined by the Land government (Section 4(3) of the EU Service of Documents Implementation Act).

List of central bodies alongside the available means of communication

The postal address should first indicate - where available - the postcode and locality and/or the postal box number.

For letter post, the postcode and locality should be indicated with, where available, the postal box number.

For express items and packages (including small packages), the street address should be used.

>TABLE>

Territorial competence

A. Baden-Württemberg

B. Bavaria

C. Berlin

D. Brandenburg

E. Bremen

F. Hamburg

G. Hesse

H. Mecklenburg-Eastern Pomerania

I. Lower Saxony

J. North Rhine-Westphalia

K. Rhineland-Palatinate

L. Saarland

M. Saxony

N. Saxony-Anhalt

O. Schleswig-Holstein

P. Thuringia

The following means of communication are available:

- for receipt and dispatch: post, including private courier services, fax,

- for other communications: telephone and e-mail.

Apart from German, English is permitted.

Article 4

Transmission of documents

The form (request) may be completed in German or English.

Article 9

Date of service

The Federal Republic of Germany does not currently intend to derogate from Article 9(1) or (2).

The form (certificate) may be completed in German or English.

Article 13

Service by diplomatic or consular agents

In the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, service by diplomatic or consular agents within the meaning of Article 13(1) of the Regulation is not allowed unless the document is to be served on a national of the transmitting State (Section 1 of the EU Service of Documents Implementation Act).

Article 14

Service by post

In the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, direct service by post within the meaning of Article 14(1) of the Regulation is accepted only in the form of registered letter with advice of delivery and only on the further condition that the document to be served is in one of the following languages or accompanied by a translation into one of the following languages: German or one of the official languages of the transmitting State, if the addressee is a national of that State (Section 2(1) of the EU Service of Documents Implementation Act).

Article 15

Direct service

In the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, direct service within the meaning of Article 15(1) of the Regulation is not allowed (Section 3 of the EU Service of Documents Implementation Act).

Article 19

Defendant not entering an appearance

Where the conditions of Article 19(2) are fulfilled, German courts may give judgment where a writ of summons or equivalent document has been publicly served in the Federal Republic of Germany.

No application may be entertained for the restoration of the original situation within the meaning of Article 19(4) of the Regulation more than one year after the end of the missed deadline."

(1) OJ C 151, 22.5.2001, p. 4, as last amended by OJ C 282, 6.10.2001, p. 2.

(2) OJ L 160, 30.6.2000, p. 37.

(3) OJ L 298, 15.11.2001, p. 1.