Clients with experience of litigating in Ireland will be
familiar with the discovery process and the onerous obligation to
disclose all relevant documents which are in their power,
possession or procurement. In an age when the volume of
electronically stored information continues to increase
exponentially, the costs and time involved in complying with
discovery orders can often be disproportionate. The good news
is that change may be on the horizon.
On 14 May 2019, the Supreme Court will hear the appeal in
Tobin v Minister for Defence, in which Hogan J in the
Court of Appeal described the discovery process in Ireland as
nothing short of a “crisis”. The Supreme
Court has stated that it will consider “the proper
overall approach to discovery in modern conditions”.
