Vers un système de notification transfrontière des actes judiciaires plus rapide: Quelle perspective pour le droit Serbe ?

Abstract

In the situation where the cross-border service of documents needs to be carried out by diplomatic means of communication between States, this procedure appears to be rather lengthy and slow. In this paper the author analyzes the rules on cross-border service of documents by diplomatic means as contained in the Serbian Code of Civil Procedure. As the main reasons of their inadequacy from the standpoint of procedural efficiency, the author sees the complexity of the procedure and the absence of any timeframe for its performance. In the light of these shortcomings, the author proposes modifications to be made to the procedure which is currently in force. These modifications include the reduction of the number of instances that a document needs to go through before being serviced, the reconfiguration of the duties of the institutions which take part in the service of documents et the introduction of time limitations for the performance of each specific step of the cross-border service of documents. Nevertheless, the author concludes that these modifications still have a limited scope due to the fact that the cross-border service of documents by diplomatic means is necessarily governed by two different laws and requires cooperation between the organs of different States. Therefore, the full improvement of the efficiency of cross-border service of documents can be reached either through global harmonization of rules in this sphere, or through introduction of technologically more advanced means of service of documents, such as service by electronic mail.