Abstract
In the Aerospatiale decision, the United States Supreme Court attempts to define the powers of American courts to compel discovery from foreign litigants in those courts, in light of the Hague Evidence Convention. This article initially examines the various interpretations of the Convention used to solve the "apples/oranges" problem, encountered by litigants from different nations and incompatible jurisprudential systems, when they seek to obtain evidence located outside the U.S. or in the control of a foreign litigant. The Court's response to this problem is later addressed by an analysis of its decision, which seems to confuse the situation further, for its offers to lower courts broad discretion coupled with vague guidelines to make such decisions.
Recommended Citation
William L. Wilks & Nancy E. Goldberg, The Unsolved Problem in Taking Evidence Abroad: The Non-Rule of Aerospatiale, 7 Penn St. Int'l L. Rev. 65 (1988).
Included in
Civil Procedure Commons, Evidence Commons, International Law Commons