Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003

1 Service of overseas process

(1) The power conferred by subsection (3) is exercisable where the Secretary of State receives any process or other document to which this section applies from the government of, or other authority in, a country outside the United Kingdom, together with a request for the process or document to be served on a person in the United Kingdom.

(2) This section applies—

(a) to any process issued or made in that country for the purposes of criminal proceedings,

(b) to any document issued or made by an administrative authority in that country in administrative proceedings,

(c) to any process issued or made for the purposes of any proceedings on an appeal before a court in that country against a decision in administrative proceedings,

(d) to any document issued or made by an authority in that country for the purposes of clemency proceedings.

(3) The Secretary of State may cause the process or document to be served by post or, if the request is for personal service, direct the chief officer of police for the area in which that person appears to be to cause it to be personally served on him.

(4) In relation to any process or document to be served in Scotland, references in this section to the Secretary of State are to be read as references to the Lord Advocate.