Summary of the document to be served (Rules 10.64(2)(c); 10.73(2)(b)) (Form 26)

Division 10.6 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 implements the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents. A person who wants a Federal Court document served in a Convention country applies to a Registrar, as forwarding authority, with 3 copies each of the draft request for service (Part 1 of Form 25), the document to be served, a summary of it in Form 26, and any translations the receiving country requires (r 10.64(2)). Form 26 is also one of the documents that must accompany an incoming request to serve a foreign judicial document in Australia (r 10.73(2)(b)). It follows the summary prescribed by Article 5 of the Convention.

When you need it

• You need to serve an originating application or other Federal Court document on someone in a Hague Convention country through that country's Central Authority.
• You are preparing a request for service abroad under r 10.64.
• A foreign request for service in Australia is being put into due form under r 10.73.

1. 1

   Complete the heading and addressee

   Insert the proceeding details and the identity and address of the person to be served.

2. 2

   Fill in where legal aid enquiries can be made

   Insert where enquiries about legal aid or advice in Australia may be directed. The capitalised warning to the recipient stays as printed.

3. 3

   Name the forwarding authority and parties

   Insert the name and address of the forwarding authority (the Registrar) and particulars of the parties.

4. 4

   Describe the document and proceeding

   Tick whether it is a judicial document, then state the nature and purpose of the document and of the proceeding, including the amount in dispute where appropriate.

5. 5

   Give the dates and time limits

   State the date and place for entering an appearance, the court, the date of any judgment, and the time limits stated in the document.

• Lodge the application with a Registrar with 3 copies each of the draft Form 25 request, the document to be served, the Form 26 summary and any required translations (r 10.64(2)).
• Include a written undertaking, signed by your lawyer or by you if unrepresented, to be personally liable for the costs of service abroad, to pay them within 28 days of a Registrar's notice, and to give any security required (r 10.64(3)).
• If the application complies, the Registrar signs the request and forwards copies to the Central Authority, or a nominated additional authority, of the country concerned (r 10.65).
• Translations must carry a certificate from the translator in English and the other language (r 10.64(5)).

• Write the summary so a non-lawyer in another country can understand what the case is about and what they must do by when.
• Check the receiving country's language requirements before filing. Both the document and the summary may need translating.
• Make the time limits in the summary match those in the document being served.