The Court held that leave to serve subpoenas on Australian citizens residing in Singapore could be granted under UCPR r 11.8AB where the evidence concerned dealings in shares of an Australian company, the recipients had Australian assets enabling enforcement, and Singapore's Hague Convention declaration indicated no objection to service on nationals of the originating state. The Court further held, departing from Barrett J's obiter in Nash v Stewart, that UCPR r 10.14(3) does extend to subpoenas and that r 10.14(4) operates to deem such service as personal service, though such orders should not be made lightly and require actual notice. Leave was conditioned on the applicants not opposing evidence by AVL absent exceptional circumstances, reflecting the Court's approach to balancing comity concerns with the need to secure evidence from overseas witnesses.
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