What Is A Process Agency? Part 1 - London Registrars
by Liz Seyi Digital marketing managerThe
role that process
agents play in
cross-border financial transactions can sometimes be misunderstood. So, in a
nutshell, what isa process agency, or process agent, and what else
does your organisation need to know about them?
What
are process agent services?
The
short answer to the question of what a process agency is, is that it is a local
agent or agency in the UK where the client (based overseas) doesn’t have a
presence, but is nonetheless entering into a legal agreement that would render
it subject to UK jurisdiction.
The
idea is that the process agent acts as an appointed representative of the
client, to accept service on behalf of the foreign client, with court or
arbitration papers able to be served upon them, as might be required from time
to time in relation to international finance transactions.
Process
agent services therefore typically include the process agent accepting service
of notices, proceedings, or documents on their overseas client’s behalf.
Process agents come into play in situations where – perhaps due to contractual
obligations – the given documents, notices, or proceedings cannot be served
abroad.
Why
do you need a process agent?
You
might look to process agents when you are involved in an international
transaction concluded under UK jurisdiction, in which one or more of the
participating parties lacks a physical presence or address within the UK.
For
example, if you are an organisation from outside the UK that wishes to raise a
loan from a UK institution, you will be expected to appoint an English process
agent, so that court proceedings can be delivered to this agent in the
hopefully unlikely event of your organisation defaulting on the loan.
Is
a process agent required under English law?
English
law doesn’t in itself demand that your organisation appoints a UK process agent
for a given international transaction; however, the other party (this often
being the lender) is likely to have made the appointment by you of a UK process
agent a condition of your agreement.
Serving
the papers on the designated UK process agent assures the court that the legal
action can proceed and reassures the counter-party that they will be able to
more easily enforce the terms of the legal agreement instead of having to go
through the otherwise complicated and longwinded process of trying to validly
serve papers abroad.
Who
can act as a process agent?
Both
individuals and organisations can be appointed as process agents, with the
responsibility of receiving, accepting, and acknowledging service of process on
another party’s behalf. This includes ongoing acceptance of service and court
papers in the event of more protracted disputes between the parties to a given
agreement.
Here at
London Registrars, we enjoy a strong reputation as comprehensive and
competitively priced process agents. We can act with speed and efficiency, even
perhaps setting up and concluding your agreement on the same day we receive
your instructions and remittance.
To
learn more about what process
agents can do
in support of the trouble-free operation of your own organisation, please don’t
wait any longer to call or email us today. We can provide further insights into the
process agent’s role, so that you can be sure of only choosing the right such
agency for you. And keep an eye out on the London
Registrars blog for our second-part piece on the key things people need to
know about process agencies.
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Created on Oct 13th 2022 01:11. Viewed 147 times.