ANGUILLA PROCESS SERVICE RULES AND LAWS

This article will provide guidance on Anguilla Process Service Rules and Laws. Anguilla is a British overseas colony with a functioning government. Politics in the country take place within the context of a parliamentary representative democratic democracy, with the Premier serving as the head of government and a pluriform multi-party system. Click here for How the Hague Convention Simplifies International Process Service.

Anguilla is one of the territories the United Nations recognizes as not fully independent and self-governing. The government is responsible for executive actions, while it and the House of Assembly have legislative authority. The judiciary is separate from the legislative and executive branches. Click here for the Civil Procedure Rules in Anguilla.

BACKGROUND

The United Kingdom is responsible for Anguilla’s military protection since the island is a British overseas colony. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London regulates the law in other areas through Order in Council, such as international law. Anguilla’s common law is a significant portion of the island’s legal code. It evolves via the application of precedents set in the Territory’s courts and those of other common law nations. Click here for information on How The Central Authority Works in Anguilla.

The United Kingdom claims Anguilla as one of its British Overseas Territories. Anguilla’s last appeals court is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, and the British Government handles all foreign contacts on behalf of the Territory, despite the fact that the local legislature and courts are autonomous from the United Kingdom. Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions About Process Servers!

ANGUILLA’S GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Anguillan politics are conducted within a parliamentary representative democratic democracy, with the Premier serving as the head of government and a multi-party system. The British overseas territory of Anguilla is the northernmost of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles. Anguilla is one of the territories the United Nations recognizes as not fully independent and self-governing. The Anguilla Constitutional Order, dated 1 April 1982, is the supreme law of the province (amended in 1990 and 2019). The Premier and the Executive Council are responsible for running the government. The House of Representatives, together with the Executive Council, is responsible for making laws. The Judiciary is separate from the other two branches of government. It is up to the United Kingdom to provide its military defense.

The leader of the government is selected from among the elected representatives. The governor selects the members of the Executive Council from the elected representatives in the House of Assembly to serve as their cabinet. The Legislative Assembly of Anguilla is chosen by popular vote at the territorial level. Eleven people make up the House of Assembly; seven are elected to serve for five years from single-seat districts, while two are in the position of ex officio, and two are nominated.

The Supreme Court of Appeal for Anguilla is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Anguilla also adheres to the Eastern Caribbean’s highest court, the Supreme Court, which consists of the Court of Appeal and the High Court. Local courts in Anguilla consist of a Magistrates’ Court and a Juvenile Court, which may be appealed to the Court of Appeal.

SERVICE OF FOREIGN PAPERS IN ANGUILLA

The Hague Service Convention was approved on November 15, 1965, by the member nations of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and is the basis upon which Anguilla process service in serving civil and commercial issues. It was created so that lawyers could effectively and reliably serve papers on defendants and plaintiffs in another nation. Service of process in civil and commercial cases, but not criminal ones, is governed by the convention. If the address of the person to be served with the document cannot be determined, the Convention will also not apply.

If the method of service requested by the applicant is not permitted by the law of the State addressed, the Central Authority of the State addressed will either serve the document themselves or arrange for it to be served by an appropriate agency in accordance with a) the method prescribed by its internal law for the service of documents in domestic actions upon persons who are within its territory.

The document may be served by delivery to an addressee who willingly receives it. Consider the scenario where the document is to be served by the Central Authority. The document in question must then be either written in or translated into the language or languages recognized by the government of Anguilla.

For parties to accomplish service in other contracting nations, the Hague Service Convention provides a more streamlined mechanism by which to do so. Each contracting state must appoint a single authority to receive requests for assistance from other states. It is permissible for a judicial officer authorized to serve process in the issuing state to submit a request for service directly to the competent authority in the receiving state. Upon receipt of the request, the receiving state’s centralized authority will make arrangements for service in a manner authorized by the receiving state, which will usually be via a local court. The requesting judicial officer will get a certificate of service from the central authority after the service has been completed.

CIVIL PROCEDURE IN ANGUILLA: SERVICE OF DOMESTIC PAPERS

Any document filed or used in court may be required to be in the format prescribed by the Chief Justice to facilitate the electronic recording or filing of that document. The Chief Justice may prescribe the conditions under which documents may be served or filed electronically by practice direction. The complete title of the proceedings and the title of the document must appear at the top of every document submitted to the court.

Any document filed with a court must include the name, business address, reference (if any), telephone number, and FAX number of the person or persons filing it. The document must also include the date it was filed, the signature of the person filing it (except in the case of an affidavit), and the name of the party on whose behalf it is filed. When someone signs a document, their entire name has to be printed clearly underneath the signature. Documents are considered filed on the day they are received by the court or the following business day if they are received after court hours.

SERVICE OF NOTICE OF CLAIM

The claim form, any notifications of appeal, and all judgments, decisions, or instructions of the court must all be filed under seal with the court. The court’s seal may be affixed to any paper or electronic document in one of two ways: either by hand or by printing a replica of the seal. The registrar must also sign all court decisions, orders, and directives.

Each statement of the case has to provide the party’s address inside the jurisdiction where they will receive service of court papers. If a legal professional provides the address, it must include the name or reference of the person handling the issue, the telephone number, and (if applicable) the FAX number of the legal professional submitting the document or the party if served in person. If an address for service is changed, the party making the change must promptly inform the court and all other parties, and any documents delivered to the old address prior to the party making the change receiving notice of the change will be considered legally served.

AFFIDAVIT AND CASE STATEMENT

There must be an affidavit of truth for every piece of evidence presented. The affidavit of truth has to be signed by the individual involved in the transaction. Suppose a lawyer is providing a certificate of truth. In that case, they must additionally attest that [A.] the certificate is being provided in accordance with the client’s instructions and [B.] that providing such a certificate would be impracticable.

Any personal certification of truth must have the form “I [name] certify that I think that the facts described in this [name document] are true.” In order to be valid, a certificate issued by counsel on behalf of a party must have the following form: “I [name of individual counsel issuing the certificate] attest that –“

The court will accept no case statement unless a certificate of veracity accompanies it. Any person may, during business hours and upon payment of the prescribed fee, search for, inspect, and take a copy of any claim form, a notice of appeal, judgment, or order given or made in court, and, with the leave of the court, which may be granted on an application made without notice, any other document filed in the court office.

Wherever possible, an affidavit from the individual who helped identify the person being served is also required, establishing that the person served is who they claim to be and detailing how the affiant came to that conclusion. Suppose the server provided a picture or description of the intended recipient. In that case, an affidavit must also be submitted by a third party attesting to the authenticity of the photo or description and explaining how the affiant is able to confirm that it is really of the intended recipient.

PROCESS SERVICE IN ANGUILLA

In Anguilla, service of process on behalf of a party may be made upon a lawyer who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of a party and has informed the claimant in writing that they are so authorized.

In order to execute service on a limited corporation, the process server is required to leave service at the registered office of the company. Service on a body corporate (other than a limited corporation) may be made by sending the claim form through prepaid mail to the primary office of the body corporate, hand-delivering the claim form to any principal officer of the body corporate, or in any other manner permitted by any statute.

Service via mail must be verified by an affidavit of service signed by the person mailing the claim form. A copy of the claim form, together with information about when and where it was sent, must be included in the affidavit. The person who sends the claim form to the addressee electronically must swear to the receipt of the form as proof of service.

The affidavit must include a copy of the document served, any cover sheet or email to that document, the transmission record, and proof of electronic service. Any written e-mail answer, read receipt, successful FAX transmission notice, or an automatic response indicating a document was placed on an online shared drive may be accepted as evidence of service for a document that is served electronically.

A party is not required to accept the service of the process personally and may instead choose an alternate manner. The party who served the claim form is responsible for submitting affidavit evidence showing that the method of service was sufficient to enable the defendant to ascertain the contents of the claim form when the party who chose the alternative method of service asks the court to take any action based on the fact that the claim form has been served.

SPECIFICATION FOR SERVICE IN ANGUILLA

An affidavit must show that the person intended to be served was able to ascertain the contents of the documents served or they would likely have been able to do so, and state the time when the person served was or was likely to have been in a position to ascertain the contents of the documents served.

Any affidavit submitted must be promptly referred to a judge, master, or registrar, who shall – review the evidence and endorse the affidavit whether or not it sufficiently establishes service.

The court clerk must provide the claimant with at least seven days’ notice before considering an order if the court is not convinced that the selected manner of service was adequate to allow the defendant to discern the contents of the claim form.

Courts have the authority to issue orders requiring certain forms of service. A claim form served in accordance with the court’s order may be considered properly served. An application for an order to serve by a specified method may be made without prior notice. Still, it must be supported by evidence on an affidavit – specifying the method of service proposed and showing that service by that method is likely to enable the person to be served to ascertain the contents of the claim form and statement of claim.

Any contractually permissible means may be used to serve a claim form containing a claim in respect of a contract. The claim form must be deemed to have been served to the defendant if it is within the jurisdiction in line with the contract. The contract states that delivery of the claim form outside of the jurisdiction will not be considered service to the defendant unless service outside the jurisdiction is authorized.

In order for the court to issue an order for out-of-state service, it must be convinced that [A.] the agent’s authority has not been terminated; [B.] the agent is still engaged in business relations with the defendant; [C.] the contract to which the claim relates was entered into within the jurisdiction with or through the defendant’s agent, and [C.] the defendant cannot be served within the jurisdiction.

Without prior notice but with affidavit proof, an application may be submitted. The time limits for serving an acknowledgment of service and submitting an answer must be specified in an order issued under this regulation.

A claim form and statement of claim may be served by posting a copy of the claim form in a visible location on the land and publishing notice of the claim at least once in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the Member State or Territory in which the land is located, as the court may direct. Any request for an order made out of state may be filed without prior notice. Still, the applicant must prove by affidavit that service on the defendant and the person in possession of the property is impossible by any other means.

OUR PROCESS

Documents can be faxed to (800) – 296-0115, emailed ps@undisputedlegal.com, mailed to 590 Madison Avenue, 21 Floor, New York, New York 10022, or dropped off at any of our locations. We do require pre-payment and accept all major credit and debit cards. Once payment is processed, your sales receipt is immediately emailed for your records.

Drop-offs must call and make an appointment first to be added to building security to permit access to our office. Documents for service must be in a sealed envelope with payment in the form of a money order or attorney check (WE DO NOT ACCEPT CASH) payable to UNDISPUTED LEGAL INC.; Our receptionist receives all documents.

DOMESTIC COVERAGE AREAS:

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AREAS:

OFFICE LOCATIONS

New York: (212) 203-8001 – 590 Madison Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022
Brooklyn: (347) 983-5436 – 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11201
Queens: (646) 357-3005 – 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Forest Hills, New York 11375
Long Island: (516) 208-4577 – 626 RXR Plaza, 6th Floor, Uniondale, New York 11556
Westchester: (914) 414-0877 – 50 Main Street, 10th Floor, White Plains, New York 10606
Connecticut: (203) 489-2940 – 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
New Jersey: (201) 630-0114 – 101 Hudson Street, 21 Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Washington DC: (202) 655-4450 – 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 300, Washington DC 20004

FOR ASSISTANCE SERVING LEGAL PAPERS IN ANGUILLA

Simply pick up the phone and call Toll-Free (800) 774-6922 or click the service you want to purchase. Our dedicated team of professionals is ready to assist you. We can handle all your Anguilla process service needs; no job is too small or too large!

Contact us for more information about our process-serving agency. We are ready to provide service of process to all our clients globally from our offices in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives” – Foster, William A

Sources

1. The Anguilla Constitutional Order of 1 April 1982 is the supreme law of the country

2. To clarify, Anguilla does not have its vote at the UN.

3. The Hon. Louise Blenman serves as the ECSC High Court Judge for Anguilla.

4. Paper measuring 11 inches (28 cm) in length and 8.5 inches (21.5 cm) in width (the standard “letter size”) is required for all documents destined for the Supreme Court. It is necessary to leave a top and bottom margin of 1″ (2.5 cm) and a right and left margin of 1.5″ (3.5 cm).

5. Delivery, posting, FAX, or transmission by any electronic means of communication permitted by the Chief Justice in a practice directive are all acceptable methods of filing a document with the court.

6. If there is a filing fee, the document will not be considered filed until the filing fee has been paid; or an undertaking to pay the filing fee has been received that is satisfactory to the registrar.

7. A document that seems to contain the court’s seal may be presented as evidence without additional verification of its authenticity.

8. This certificate is granted on the [claimant’s or as the case may be] order and in the belief that the facts mentioned in this [name document] are true. The [applicant or relevant party] is unable to provide the certificate because [justify]”.

9. Except for the purpose of sending the document to another court office or a magistrate’s court, no document filed in or in possession of a court officer may be removed from the court office without the permission of the court.

10. Service may be done by sending it to the registered office via telex, FAX, or prepaid post or cable; by handing it to an officer or manager of the company at any place of business of the company having a real connection to the claim; by handing it to any director, officer, receiver, receiver-manager, or liquidator of the company; or by leaving it at the registered office of the company.

11. Service via email should specify the electronic means by which the document was served, the email address or FAX number to which the document was transmitted, and the date and time of the transmission.