letters rogatory

Letters rogatory are formal requests from a court in one country to a court in another country seeking judicial assistance, service of process, and most commonly to obtain evidence. Although letters rogatory are often transmitted through diplomatic channels, they may also be transmitted directly between courts or other appropriate tribunals. Courts may use letters rogatory in civil and criminal proceedings. In U.S. practice, letters rogatory are generally used to obtain evidence or other judicial assistance rather than to enforce a foreign judgment. See: Osario v. Harza Engineering Co., 890 F. Supp. 750 (N.D. Ill. 1995) The primary federal statutes addressing letters rogatory and related judicial assistance are 28 U.S.C. §§ 1781 and 1782 and 1782. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP)28(b) also addresses the taking of depositions in foreign countries, including through a letter of request, which may be captioned as a letter rogatory.

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1781(a), the U.S. Department of State is authorized, through appropriate channels, to receive and transmit letters rogatory or requests between foreign or international tribunals and tribunals, officers, or agencies in the United States. Section 1781(a)(1) addresses requests from foreign or international tribunals to U.S. tribunals, officers, or agencies, while § 1781(a)(2) addresses requests originating from U.S. tribunals and directed to foreign or international tribunals, officers, or agencies. Importantly, § 1781(b) provides that the statute does not preclude the direct transmission of letters rogatory or requests between the relevant tribunals, officers, or agencies.

Section 1782 authorizes a U.S. district court to compel discovery, to order a person who resides or is found within the district to provide testimony or to produce documents or other items for use in a proceeding before a foreign or international tribunal. Such an order may be issued pursuant to a letter rogatory or other request from a foreign or international tribunal, or upon the application of an interested person. The statute gives district courts discretion to grant, deny, or limit a discovery request. In exercising that discretion, courts consider the purposes underlying § 1782, including its dual goals of providing an efficient means of assistance to participants in international litigation in U.S. courts and encouraging foreign countries, by example, to provide similar assistance to U.S. courts. See: In re Application of Malev Hungarian Airlines, 964 F.2d 97, 100 (2d Cir. 1992).

The use of letters rogatory is also grounded in principles of international comity. The requests for judicial assistance through letters rogatory rest upon the comity of courts and customarily include a promise of reciprocity. See: 22 C.F.R. § 92.54. Treaties and conventions may provide additional procedures for obtaining judicial assistance between countries. In the absence of an applicable treaty or convention, courts may consider principles of comity when determining whether to issue or honor a request for judicial assistance.

In Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 482 U.S. 522 (1987), the U.S. Supreme Court identified several factors relevant to a comity analysis regarding international discovery. These include:

The importance of the requested documents or information to the litigation;
The degree of specificity of the request;
Whether the information originated in the United States;
The availability of alternative means of obtaining the information; and
The extent to which noncompliance would undermine important interests of the United States or compliance would undermine crucial interests of the foreign state.

These considerations reflect the need to balance the interests of the requesting party and the U.S. judicial system against the sovereignty and interests of the foreign state.

[Last reviewed in September of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team]

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