Discovery is a process in civil and criminal proceedings,
provided for in Rule 35 of the Uniform Rules of Court, where
parties exchange non-privileged documentary evidence available to
the respective parties, prior to the trial, that are relevant to
the issues in dispute between the litigating parties. The broad
purpose of discovery is to narrow the issues in dispute and to
ensure that parties have mutual knowledge and access to all
relevant facts that are essential to the litigation. This is to
ensure that disputes are decided on the basis of the facts
themselves, rather than as a result of facts that have been
concealed.
However, the discovery process is not the only means of
obtaining access to relevant documentary information. Access may
also be obtained by way of the Promotion of Access to Information
Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”) which gives effect to the
constitutional right of access to information, provided for in
Section 32 of the South African Constitution
