It allows taking of evidence from one member state to another without recourse to consular and diplomatic channels.

The 2015 Danish European Union opt-out referendum, which would have opted-in, was rejected by the people of Denmark.

The foreign MFA would then pass the documents to the judicial authorities in that state, who would then go about obtaining the required evidence.

This regulation enables a somewhat simplified route by allowing direct contact between the courts in the member states.

The regulation also contains various articles to promote the use of communication technologies such as telephone conferencing and videoconferencing.