Service of Judicial Documents in Switzerland
Switzerland and the United States are both signatories to the Hague Service Convention and this is the only method of service allowed by law in Switzerland, unless the defendant is a US citizen. The Swiss government considers any attempt to serve private process on its citizens or third country nationals, outside the provisions of the Hague Service Convention, an attack on their judicial sovereignty and all participants are subject to arrest.
The basic requirements for service in accordance with the Convention are as follows:

  1. Switzerland has declared that translation of the documents into French, German or Italian is required. There are 26 Swiss Cantons and the required language is dependent upon the Canton where service is to be effected. This includes any exhibits or attachments. In addition, when the certificate of service is returned, it will likely be in one of those languages and will need to be translated back into English for filing with the court.
  2. A valid address is required for service. The authorities will not make any attempts to locate a defendant if the address provided is not valid and they are not obligated under the treaty to do so.
  3. Service through the Hague Service Convention in Switzerland generally takes 3 months but can take longer. No request for expedited service is acknowledged.
  4. The judicial authorities are not obligated to provide status on any service in their possession and generally do not. Because of this, we will provide a notarized affidavit indicating that the service is in progress, that we are in compliance with applicable statutes, and when we reasonably expect service to be completed. This can be used to support a motion to extend, if necessary, and is provided at no additional cost. In addition, we will follow the progress of the service as closely as possible and forward any information obtained.

Please note: Article 3 of the Convention indicates that "the authority or judicial officer competent under the law of the state in which the documents originate shall forward to the Central Authority" a request for service of judicial documents. Therefore, it is often possible to quash services effected through the Hague Service Convention because the requesting party "was not authorized to serve process in the state of the originating court and therefore is not authorized to request service."
Although this does not apply to Federal court or any state court that allows service by any individual over the age of 18 and not a party, some Central Authorities require the order. However, even if not required by the destination country or originating court rules, we recommend that an order be obtained as a precautionary measure. We will prepare the order for you at no additional cost. It would be your responsibility to have it executed.
Call 1-800 SERVE EM (737-8336) for a free, no-obligation quote.

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