>>7993221
Possibly. I'd need a lawfag to double check rules with Ukraine
https://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/foreign-court-testimony/
Rule 28(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for the taking of a deposition in a foreign country “(A) under an applicable treaty; (B) under a letter of request, whether or not captioned a ‘letter rogatory’; (C) on notice, before a person authorized to administer oaths either by federal law or by the law in the place of examination; or (D) before a person commissioned by the court to administer any necessary oath and take testimony.”
Rule 28(b)(4) provides that “[e]vidence 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.” (Emphasis added.)
Both the United States and Germany are signatories to the Convention of 18 March 1970 on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (the “Hague Evidence Convention”), which represents the “applicable treaty” under Rule 28(b)(1)(A) above.
Unlike the Hague Service Convention, which the US Supreme Court has ruled is mandatory and exclusive in all instances where it applies, the Hague Evidence Convention is considered to provide an additional means by which the parties may collect evidence abroad.
However, from the German perspective, the use of the Hague Evidence Convention is mandatory with respect to evidence taken in Germany for foreign proceedings. There is a line of US cases challenging the exclusivity of the Hague Evidence Convention, but these cases are beyond the scope of this discussion. Also beyond the scope of this discussion is a narrow exception by which the German Foreign Office stated it will not object to questioning of German or other non-US citizens by US consuls if certain prerequisites are fulfilled.
Thus, for purposes of this discussion, the analysis is limited to the taking of oral examinations in Germany pursuant the Hague Evidence Convention, Chapter I (compulsory evidence taking) or Chapter II (voluntary evidence taking). Chapter II of the Convention is a more streamlined means to gather evidence, but is only available if the witness is cooperative.
The mechanics of Chapters I and II of the Hague Evidence Convention in Germany are presented below.
(this states in civil cases, not sure in criminal)