Part 2 Requests by Barbados to Commonwealth Countries for Assistance

Article 11 Assistance in serving documents

Where, for the purposes of, or in connection with, a criminal matter, it is necessary or desirable to serve any document on a person or an authority in a Commonwealth country, a request may be transmitted requesting that assistance be given by the country in effecting the service.

Part 3 Requests by Commonwealth Countries to Barbados for Assistance

Article 24 Assistance to country in serving documents

(1) This section applies where a request is transmitted requesting assistance by Barbados in effecting the service of a document on a person or an authority in Barbados for the purposes of, or in connection with, a criminal matter in relation to the Commonwealth country making the request, and the request is accepted.

(2) Where this section applies, the central authority for Barbados shall

(a) use its best endeavours to have the document served

(i) in accordance with procedures proposed in the request, or

(ii) if those procedures would be unlawful or inappropriate, or no procedures are so proposed, in accordance with the law of Barbados; and

(b) if the document

(i) is served, transmit to the central authority for the Commonwealth country making the request a certificate as to service, or

(ii) is not served, transmit to the central authority a statement of the reasons which prevented the service.

(3) In this section, “document” does not include

(a) a subpoena; or

(b) a process

(i) requiring the attendance of a person before a court or tribunal in the Commonwealth country making the request, or

(ii) which attracts a criminal penalty or sanction for non-compliance with its requirements.

Schedule 2

Caribbean Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Serious Criminal Matters

Article 12 Service of Documents

1. The requested State shall effect service of any document relating to or forming part of any request for assistance properly made under the provisions of this Treaty transmitted to it for this purpose by the requesting State; provided that the requested State may, in its discretion, decline to serve any subpoena or other process requiring the attendance of any person before any authority or tribunal in the requesting State.

2. Any request under this Article for assistance in the service of a document requiring the appearance of a person before an authority in the requesting State shall be transmitted to the requested State within a reasonable time before the scheduled appearance.

3. The central authority of the requested State shall endeavor to have the documents served by any:

(a) method prescribed by the law of that State for the service of documents in criminal proceedings; or

(b) particular method stated in the request, unless such method is incompatible with the law of that State.

(4) The requested State shall return proof of service in the manner required by the requesting State provided under the laws of the requested State, and if the law of the requesting State does not provide a manner for return of service, then in the manner required by the requested State.

(5) If service cannot be effected, the reasons for this shall be communicated to the competent authority of the requesting State as soon as practicable.

(6) A person served in compliance with a request with a summons to appear as a witness in the requesting State and who fails to comply with the summons shall not by reason thereof be liable to any penalty or measure of compulsion in either the requesting or the requested State notwithstanding any contrary statement in the summons.