UPC Local Division: Service

The service of the application for interim measures with the support of the competent Chinese authority was unsuccessful, although the application could be sent by post to the competent Chinese authority and the registry of the court was in contact with the Chinese authority by e-mail in this matter. However, the Chinese authority did not process the service for a period of more than six months without apparent reason. The Chinese authority has therefore seriously and definitively refused to serve. According to the Hague Service Convention, it is not within the discretion of the Chinese authority to decide whether or not to forward a properly completed request for service to the defendant. The rules of service are to be interpreted in accordance with the principle of effective judicial protection. If it was not possible to serve the application for interim measures, and there is nothing to suggest that the default decision subsequently issued in the same proceedings can be served in accordance with R 274 RoP, it is not necessary to first attempt to serve the default decision before an order is issued in accordance with R 275.2 RoP by publishing the default decision on the court's website (LK München 21. 1. 2025, CFI 509/2024).