Service of Process - ISDA Provision

2002 ISDA Master Agreement A Jolly Contrarian owner’s manual™ 13(c) in a Nutshell™ The JC’s Nutshell™ summary of this term has moved uptown to the subscription-only ninja tier. For the cost of ½ a weekly 🍺 you can get it here. Sign up at Substack. You can even ask questions! Ask about it here. 13(c) in all its glory 13(c) Service of Process. Each party irrevocably appoints the Process Agent, if any, specified opposite its name in the Schedule to receive, for it and on its behalf, service of process in any Proceedings. If for any reason any party’s Process Agent is unable to act as such, such party will promptly notify the other party and within 30 days appoint a substitute process agent acceptable to the other party. The parties irrevocably consent to service of process given in the manner provided for notices in Section 12(a)(i), 12(a)(iii) or 12(a)(iv). Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of either party to serve process in any other manner permitted by applicable law. edit Related agreements and comparisons Click here for the text of Section 13(c) in the 1992 ISDA Click to compare this section in the 1992 ISDA and 2002 ISDA. Resources and Navigation This provision in the 1992 Resources Wikitext | Nutshell wikitext | 1992 ISDA wikitext | 2002 vs 1992 Showdown | 2006 ISDA Definitions | 2008 ISDA | JC’s ISDA code project Navigation Preamble | 1 • (a) (b) (c) | 2 • (a) (b) (c) (d) | 3 • (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) | 4 • (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) | 5 • 5(a) Events of Default: 5(a)(i) Failure to Pay or Deliver 5(a)(ii) Breach of Agreement 5(a)(iii) Credit Support Default 5(a)(iv) Misrepresentation 5(a)(v) Default Under Specified Transaction 5(a)(vi) Cross Default 5(a)(vii) Bankruptcy 5(a)(viii) Merger Without Assumption 5(b) Termination Events: 5(b)(i) Illegality 5(b)(ii) Force Majeure Event 5(b)(iii) Tax Event 5(b)(iv) Tax Event Upon Merger 5(b)(v) Credit Event Upon Merger 5(b)(vi) Additional Termination Event (c) (d) (e) | 6 • (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) | 7 | 8 • (a) (b) (c) (d) | 9 • (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) | 10 | 11 | 12 • (a) (b) | 13 • (a) (b) (c) (d) | 14 | Index: Click ᐅ to expand: 2002 ISDA 1992 ISDA Premium version of this page

Overview

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2002 version of ISDA’s crack drafting squad™ were properly phoning it in on this one. There are some changes, but none of them mean anything.

Summary

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English law

Process agent
/ˈprəʊsɛs ˈeɪʤᵊnt/ (n.)

An agent located in a jurisdiction who is appointed by a contracting counterparty outside that jurisdiction to accept service of legal proceedings filed against it in the courts of that jurisdiction, to discharge the procedural requirement that they are physically served within the jurisdiction.

For English law contracts the jurisdiction in question is that of “the courts of England and Wales” — there is no such thing as United Kingdom law — the rules of English civil court procedure require process physically to be served within England or Wales (or, in theory, their adjacent territorial waters). Service in Scotland — or its territorial waters — will not do. This means you can serve process on someone rowing a boat in the Bristol Channel, but not in Inverness, much less on someone escaping in rowing a boat to, for example, the Isle of Skye.

A contracting counterparty whom you cannot rely on being in England or Wales should you have to sue it — one who has no permanent place of business there — you might ask to appoint as its agent a company who reliably will be there, and who is prepared to receive process served upon the counterparty and pass it on to head office. That person is a “process agent”.

The best kind of process agent is an English-domiciled affiliate of the contracting entity who is happy to perform that role, as it generally will do it for free. But if you don’t have one, there are dedicated process agency businesses who will act as your process agent for, naturally enough, a suitably outrageous fee.

New York law

The New York rules of civil procedure are here. As you might expect, they seem complicated. CT Corporation seems to charge a lot for serving process — so we assume there is a reason for that.

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See also

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For a wide-ranging discussion of the merits of process agents — when you need one; when, notwithstanding the ISDA form you don’t — and what all this has to do with rowing dinghies in the Bristol Channel (some), dingy coffee emporia in old Glasgae toon (less), and the conduct of commerce by foreigners in New York city (none at all) — see our lovely article about process agents in general.