Notification of the Russian Defendant by E-mail in Foreign Proceedings

Abstract

The article analyzes the Resolution of the Arbitration Court of the Volga District dated
December 23, 2019 no. Ф06-55840/2019 in case no. А12-20691/2019, which considered the
possibility of notifying the Russian defendant by e-mail as a part of the recognition and enforcement
of the decision of the Cypriot court. The author notes that the delivery of a judicial notice, taking
into account the provisions of the doctrine and law enforcement practice, should be considered as
an act of sovereignty of a foreign state. Therefore, a state may, at its discretion, exclude the use
of certain methods of notifying within its own territory. If an international treaty allows notifying
under the law of the state, where the decision is issued, then notifying the foreign defendant
(for the purposes of recognition and enforcement) should be carried out in the manner of
international legal assistance, and not in the manner established by the national legislation.
Thus, the approach to notifying the Russian defendant, formulated in the said Resolution of the
Arbitration Court of the Volga District, is difficult to recognize as fully justified.