It is generally unlawful to conduct voluntary discovery in France without first giving at least 45 days notice to the French Ministry of Justice. Normally, the Ministry of Justice does not object, and the discovery can proceed following the notice. Monaco does not have any such requirement, and voluntary discovery can be conducted in Monaco without the need to notify the Government.

The next problem is the administration of the oath. There are no French civil officials who can administer an oath. Thus, some other arrangement needs to be made, such as, having a United States Consul administer the oath. This is not always easy to arrange. A New York Commissioner of Deeds, if qualified in France, can administer an oath. Other jurisdictions have similar arrangements.

There are very few qualified court reporters in France, and most are in the Paris area. London and the regions of Germany near major United States military facilities are often better sources. If it is not possible to locate a suitable court reporter in Europe, the court reporter must be brought from the United States.

Because of the problem of administering the oath, it is probably best to use the nearest United States Consul to do that. This normally means that the transcript must also be signed before the same United States Consul as soon as it is available.