LETTERS ROGATORY. An instru ment sent in the name and by the authority of a judge or court to another, requesting the latter to cause to be examined, upon in terrogatories filed in a eause depending before the former, a witness who is within the juris diction of the judge' or court to whom such letters are addressed.
2. They are sometimes denominated sub mutuce vicissitudirtis, from a elause which they generally eontain. Where the govern ment of a foreign country, in which witnesses proposed to be examined reside, refuse to allow commissioners to administer oaths to sueh witnesses, or to allow the commission to be executed unless it is done by some magis trate or judicial officer there, according to the laws of that country, letters rogatory must issue. Commissioners are forbidden to ad minister oathk in the island of St. Croix, 6 Wend. N. Y. 476 ; in Cuba, 1 Pet. C. C. 236 ; 8 Paige. Ch. N. Y. 446 ; and in Sweden. 2 Ves. Sen. Ch. 236.
3. These letters are directed to any judge or tribunal having jurisdiction of civil eauses in the foreign country, recite the pendency of the suit in court, and state that there are material witnesses residing there, without whose testimony justice cannot be done be tween the parties, and then request the said judge or tribunal to cause the witnesses t/.1 come before them and answer to the inter rogatories annexed to the letters rogatory, to eause their depositions to be cornmitted to writing and returned with the letters rogatory.
In letters rogatory there is always an offer, on the part of the court whence they issued, to render a mutual service to the court to which they may be directed, whenever re quired. The practice of such letters is derived from the civil law, by which these letters are sometimes called letters requisitory. A spe cial application must be made to court to obtain an order for letters rogatory.
4. Though formerly used in England in the courts of common law, I Rolle, Abr. 530, pl. 13„they have been superseded by com missions of dedimus potestatem, which are considered to be but a feeble substitute. Dunlap, Adm. Pract. 223, n.; Hall, Adm. Praet. 37. The courts of admiralty use tbese letters ; and they are recognized by the law of nations. See Fcelix, Droit Intern. liv. 2, t. 4, p. 300 •, Denisart ; Dunlap, Adm. Pract. 221 ; Benediet, Adm. 533 ; I Hoffman, Ch„ N. Y. 482.
In Nelson vs. United States, supra, will be found a copy of letters rogatory, issued to the courts of Havana. aceording to the form and practice of the eivil law, on an occasion when the authorities there had prevented the execution of a commission, regarding any attempts to take testimony under it as an interference with the rights of the judieial tribunals of that place.