(a) Within the United States.
(1) In General. Within the United States or a territory or insular possession subject to United States jurisdiction, a deposition must be taken before:
(A) an officer authorized to administer oaths either by the laws of this state or of the United States or of the place of examination; or(B) a person appointed by the court where the action is pending to administer oaths and take testimony.(2) Definition of ”Officer.” The term ”officer” in Rules 30, 31, and 32 includes a person appointed by the court under this rule or designated by the parties under Rule 29(a).(b) In a Foreign Country.
(1) In General. A deposition may be taken in a foreign country:
(A) under an applicable treaty or convention;(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.(2) Issuing a Letter of Request or a Commission. A letter of request, a commission, or both may be issued:
(A) on appropriate terms after an application and notice of it; and(B) without a showing that taking the deposition in another manner is impracticable or inconvenient.(3) Form of a Request, Notice, or Commission. When a letter of request or any other device is used according to a treaty or convention, it must be captioned in the form prescribed by that treaty or convention. A letter of request may be addressed ”To the Appropriate Authority in [name of country].” A deposition notice or a commission must designate by name or descriptive title the person before whom the deposition is to be taken.(4) Letter of Request-Admitting Evidence. Evidence 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.(c) Disqualification. A deposition must not be taken before a person who is any party’s relative, employee, or attorney; who is related to or employed by any party’s attorney; or who is financially interested in the action.
