For a German creditor seeking to obtain evidence or asset information from Russian authorities through an international letter rogatory, the procedure unfolds across four principal stages — each governed by Russian civil procedure rules and, where applicable, the bilateral legal assistance treaty between Germany and Russia.
The first stage is transmission. The requesting German court issues the letter rogatory and forwards it through the designated central authority — typically the German Federal Office of Justice — which transmits the document to Russia's Ministry of Justice. This diplomatic channel is required: direct court-to-court transmission is not accepted under Russian procedural rules for incoming foreign requests.
The second stage is examination for formal compliance. Once received by the Russian Ministry of Justice, the request is reviewed for completeness, proper authentication, and conformity with Russian public policy. Documents must be accompanied by a certified Russian-language translation. Requests that are incomplete, unauthenticated, or that conflict with Russian law are returned without execution — a step that can set the timeline back materially.
The third stage is referral to the competent Russian court or authority. If the request passes the Ministry's review, it is forwarded to the appropriate arbitrazh court or court of general jurisdiction, or to the relevant state registry (such as Rosreestr for property records or the Federal Tax Service for certain financial data), depending on the nature of the information sought.
The fourth stage is execution and return. The Russian court or authority executes the request in accordance with Russian procedural rules — not the rules of the requesting court — and transmits the result back through the same ministerial channel to Germany. In practice, the total timeline from transmission to receipt of results commonly extends to several months, and Russian courts exercise discretion over the scope of execution.
For German creditors, the letters rogatory route is one of several mechanisms for tracing Russian assets. It operates in parallel with direct enforcement proceedings before Russian courts and with the use of local counsel to request court-ordered disclosure within Russian insolvency or recovery proceedings. Our Asset Tracing & Recovery practice note on this instrument provides further procedural detail.
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— Elizaveta Razina Senior Lawyer, Practice Lead — IP Enforcement, Vetrov & Partners vetrovpartners.com/razina/
Elizaveta Razina leads the firm's intellectual property practice, representing foreign trademark owners in infringement proceedings before Russian state courts and the IP Court. She has been with the firm since 2012 and holds a degree from Novosibirsk State University (2013). She advises on anti-counterfeiting strategy and parallel import controls.
This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice under Russian or any other applicable law. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Vetrov & Partners is a Russian-qualified law firm. For matters governed by foreign law or requiring local admission in another jurisdiction, we collaborate with trusted counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vetrovpartners.com.