Title 46

SECTION 502.142

502.142 Persons before whom depositions may be taken.

§ 502.142 Persons before whom depositions may be taken.

(a) Within the United States. (1) In general. Within the United States or a territory or insular possession subject to United States jurisdiction, a deposition must be taken before:

(i) An officer authorized to administer oaths either by federal law or by the law in the place of examination; or

(ii) A person appointed by the Commission or the presiding officer to administer oaths and take testimony.

(b) In a foreign country. (1) In general. A deposition may be taken in a foreign country:

(i) Under an applicable treaty or convention;

(ii) under a letter of request, whether or not captioned a “letter rogatory”;

(iii) On notice, before a person authorized to administer oaths either by federal law or by the law in the place of examination; or

(iv) Before a person authorized by the Commission or the presiding officer to administer any necessary oath and take testimony.

(2) Issuing a letter of request or an authorization. A letter of request, an authorization, or both may be issued:

(i) On appropriate terms after an application and notice of it; and

(ii) Without a showing that taking the deposition in another manner is impracticable or inconvenient.

(3) Form of a request, notice, or authorization. When a letter of request or any other device is used according to a treaty or convention, it must be captioned in the form prescribed by that treaty or convention. A letter of request may be addressed “To the Appropriate Authority in [name of country].” A deposition notice or an authorization must designate by name or descriptive title the person before whom the deposition is to be taken.

(4) Letter of request - admitting evidence. Evidence obtained in response to a letter of request need not be excluded merely because it is not a verbatim transcript, because the testimony was not taken under oath, or because of any similar departure from the requirements for depositions taken within the United States.

(c) Disqualification. A deposition must not be taken before a person who is any party's relative, employee, or attorney; who is related to or employed by any party's attorney; or who is financially interested in the action. [Rule 202.]

[77 FR 61529, Oct. 10, 2012. Redesignated at 81 FR 93836, Dec. 22, 2016]

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