Tag Archives: Hague Evidence Convention

Case of the Day: Topsnik v. United States

Hague Evidence Convention,
Internal Revenue Service sign
Don’t mess with the IRS. Credit: Joshua Doubek

The case of the day is Topsnik v. United States (Fed. Cl. 2016). Gerd Topsnik was “a German resident who formerly had business interests in the United States.” He brought claims for damages, asserting that the government had wrongfully levied taxes on him. (In fact, his claims should have been brought as claims for a refund of taxes, for jurisdictional reasons that the judge explained but that I won’t go into here). The root of the claim was that the statute of limitations barred the government from collecting the taxes.
Continue reading Case of the Day: Topsnik v. United States →

The New Practical Handbooks Are Here!

Hague Evidence Convention, Hague Service Convention,

Readers, it doesn’t get any more exciting than this. The Hague Conference has just published new editions of the Practical Handbooks on the Service and Evidence Conventions. These were years in the making, and a lot of painstaking work has gone into them. I have seen the drafts and can tell you that they will be useful to you as standard references for years to come. They are available in e-book format only: you can buy yours at the Hague Conference website.

Congratulations to the staff of the Permanent Bureau and the experts who participated in the drafting for bringing these projects to fruition! The forwards to the new Handbooks give special mention to Bill Fritzlen of the U.S. State Department and Alex Kunzelmann, Mayela Celis, Thomas John, and Brody Warren of the Permanent Bureau (I think Alex has left the Hague for new adventures), who were principal drafters.