Taking evidence (recast)

National information and online forms concerning Regulation No. 2020/1783

General information

Regulation (EU) 2020/1783 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters (taking of evidence)(recast) seeks to improve, simplify and accelerate cooperation between courts in the taking of evidence. The Regulation replaced Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 as of 1 July 2022.

However, the decentralised IT system as an obligatory means of communication to be used for the transmission and receipt of requests, forms and other communication will only start applying from 1 May 2025 (the first day of the month following the period of three years after the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 25 (for further details see Article 35 of Regulation (EU) 2020/1783)).

The Regulation applies between all Member States of the European Union with the exception of Denmark. Between Denmark and the other Member States the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters of 1970 applies.

The Regulation provides for three ways of taking of evidence between Member States: taking of evidence through the requested court, direct taking of evidence by the requesting court and taking of evidence by diplomatic agents or consular officers.

The Requesting Court is the court or other competent authority if notified by the relevant Member State, before which the proceedings are commenced or contemplated. The Requested Court is the competent court of another Member State for the performance of the taking of evidence. The Central Body is responsible for supplying information and seeking solutions to any difficulties which may arise in respect of a request.

The Regulation provides for fourteen forms.

The European e-Justice Portal provides you with information concerning the application of the Regulation and a user-friendly tool for filling in the forms.

Please select the relevant country's flag to obtain detailed national information.

Related links

Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 of 28 May 2001 on cooperation between the courts of the Member States in the taking of evidence in civil or commercial matters

The Hague Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters


FINDING COMPETENT COURTS/AUTHORITIES

The search tool below will help you to identify court(s)/authority(ies) competent for a specific European legal instrument. Please note that although every effort has been made to ascertain the accuracy of the results, there may be some exceptional cases concerning the determination of competence that are not necessarily covered.

Taking evidence


*mandatory input
Last update: 22/02/2023

This page is maintained by the European Commission. The information on this page does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission. The Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice with regard to copyright rules for European pages.