Viennese swirl

As an English solicitor practising in Vienna, I was particularly interested in the article by District Judge Bill Vincent on the pitfalls of serving claims abroad (see [2000] Gazette, 5 May, 39).Service of English and Commonwealth process on defendants in Austria is still regulated by the provisions of the Convention between Austria and UK signed in March 1931.

This provides a wide range of possibilities for the plaintiff's lawyer, the choice of which will depend upon the time and money available.

Should the usual consular and administrative channels be considered too dilatory, the easiest and quickest method of service is to use an agent in Austria to carry out service according to English law, provided it does not contravene Austrian law.As in most continental European countries, Austrian legal and administrative process is served exclusively by the postal authorities, by way of registered letters - the dreaded 'blue envelope'.

To make such service even more effective, the Austrian Service Act provides that, should any mistake have been made in service, a response by the person to whom the particular document is addressed will cure any defect in service.

This Act also specifically refers to the various international agreements - such as the 1931 Convention - between Austria and other countries as the superior governing provisions.With regard to the necessity of translating the foreign process, the Austrian Service Act allows any party upon whom foreign legal process has been served without German translations to reject this within three days of service by notice to the authority serving it.

However, this does not apply to service under the international conventions and it seems the drafters of the 1931 Convention could not make up their minds whether translations should be required or not.In my experience, either personal service or service by registered and recorded letter are quick, efficient and cheap methods of serving English process upon defendants in Austria.

Neither I nor my Austrian agent has ever had service carried out by us successfully challenged in any English or Commonwealth court.Merran Loewenthal, Vienna