Free MEMORANDUM in Support - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

‘ I Case1:O6—omc—OO0O1-KAJ Documeni_2 Filed O1/O3/2006 Page1 of 4_
‘ . IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
I I FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
IN RE LETTER OF REQUEST an )
FROM ARGENTINA _ ) -
IN THE MATTER OF ) Misc. No. 06-
IMPSAT FIBER NETWORKS, INC. _ )
‘ .GOVERNMENT'S MEMORANDUM OF LAW
I _ _ IN SUPPORT OF APPLICATION FOR ORDER
- This memorandum of law is submitted in support of the U
Application for an Order pursuant to Title 28, United States A
-Code, Section 1782, in order to exéeute a letter of request from
e‘ _ Argentina. A translation of the letter of request is attached.
~_ ‘ FACTUAL BACKGROUND: -· I - 1
_ This application relates to civil litigation in -
_ Argentina arising from a labor dispute.- The Argentinian Court
has requested assistance relating to_information that may be in
· the District of_Delaware.o I U
_ . EVIDENCE SOUGHT: n I I
l U The Argentinian authorities seek information from a l
company which may reside in this_District. The authority for U
» this Court to accede to this request is contained in Title 28, U
‘ U United States Code, Seetion 1782, which . U

Case 1:06-mc-00001-KAJ Document 2 Filed O1/O3/2006 7 Page 2 of 4
- states in part: - _y
{a) The district court of_the district in which a person
resides or is found may order him to give his testimony
· or statement or to produce a document or other thing for
‘- use in a proceeding in a foreign or international
tribunal, including criminal investigations conducted
` before formal accusation. The order may be made pursuant _
‘ ‘ . to _a letter rogatory issued, or request made, by a ‘“
foreign or international tribunal or upon the application
· p _ of any interested person and may direct that the
testimony or statement be given, or the document or other
5 thing be produced, before a person appointed by the
. court. By virtue of his appointment, the person.
‘ - appointed has power to administer any necessary oath and ” `
* _‘ take the testimony or statement. The order may prescribe
the practice and procedure, which may be in whole or part
- the practice and procedure of the foreign country or the
international tribunal, _for taking ·the testimony or
A statement or producing the document or other thing. To
_-.‘ -the extent that the order does not prescribe otherwise,
. ‘ the testimony or statement shall be taken, `and the .
‘ document or other thing produced, in accordance with the
‘ Federal Rules of Civil Procedure..
‘ The proper criteria for determining whether the court `
_ should exercise its discretion in favor of executing the request
are outlined in ln Re Request for Judicial Assistance from the
` Seoul District Criminal Court, 555 F.2d 720, 723 (9th Cir. 1977)
(citation omitted): l w . - ·
l Under the statute the only restrictions
l -explicitly stated are that the request be
. t made by a foreign or _international
. tribunal, and that the` testimony or
_ _ `material requested be- for use ini a
. proceeding in such a tribunal .... [and] `
_ _ that the investigation in connection with
_ which the request is made must relate to
y a judicial or quasi-judicial controversy. ·

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` Moreover, “ (t)he judicial proceeding for which assistance is
_sought ... need not be pending at the time of the request for
U assistance; it suffices that the proceeding in the foreign tribunal ‘
_ and its contours be in reasonable contemplation when the request is _ U
k l _ made.” In Re Letter of Request from the Crown Prosecution Services
of the United Kingdom, 8?0`R.2d 686,·687 (D.C. Cir. 1989). i
_ ` The letter of request in this case shows that_the
;· information sought is for use in such proceedings in Argentina and
n. hence the request comes well within those circumstances
‘ U _ contemplated by Congress in.expanding the Federal Courts' authority
to act in such matters. In Re Letter of Request from the Crown
Prosecution Service of the United Kingdom, 870 F.2d-886, 689—91
(D.C. Cir. 1989); In Re Letters Rogatory from the Tokyo District,
Tokyo, Japan, 539 F.2d 1216, 1219 (9th Cir. 1976). Therefore, I
U l ask this Court to honor the request for assistance. U l
. U U The reception of letters of request and the appointment
n of-a Commissioner to execute them are matters customarily handled
‘ eg partey and persons with objections to the request raise those U
objections by moving to quash” any _subpoenas issued by the- U n
U Commissioner. Id. " nin _ k _

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- WHEREFORE, the United States requests that the Court issue an
. _ Order, in the form, appended_hereto, apnointing a Commissioner in
order to execute the request for assistance. .
y - 4 __ _ ‘ A Respectfully submitted, ~
4 . ` l r COLM F. CONNOLLY l _ ·
‘ _ it d Sta es Attorney-
` BY: ` ’ ` y
4 . ` Richard G. An rews
- ` . -Assistant U.S Attorney 4
r Delaware Bar I.D. No.2l99 ·
‘ ‘ 1007 N. Orange Street- .
" y ‘ Wilmington, DE 19801 ‘
_ · . ‘ (302) 573—6277 o `
- Dated: l\'5 \OE) _ _ » A