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ARTICLE · 21 SEPTEMBER 2026

English Court Cannot Compel Pre-action Disclosure From Overseas

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The High Court has ruled that it cannot compel overseas parties to disclose documents located abroad through pre-action disclosure applications under s.33(2) Senior Courts Act 1981. This landmark decision resolves a question left open by the Court of Appeal and establishes that the Hague Convention regime, rather than domestic pre-action disclosure procedures, is the proper mechanism for obtaining evidence from foreign jurisdictions.

United KingdomLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
James Popperwell
James Popperwell
Alex Douty
Alex Douty
Madeleine Brown
Madeleine Brown

In Ebert v Ferrari [2026] EWHC 2279 (TCC), the High Court found that it does not have the power to compel a party located outside the jurisdiction to provide pre-action disclosure of documents which are themselves also located overseas using s.33(2) Senior Courts Act 1981 (the Act).

This decision answers the question left open by the Court of Appeal in Gorbachev v Guriev [2022] EWCA Civ 1270, which we have covered in our previous article. The correct mechanism for obtaining disclosure of such documents is the international regime established by the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters 1970 or the court’s common law powers.

Background

Mr Ebert, a British citizen, was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in a fatal accident in Hong Kong in June 2015. The car he was driving was manufactured by Ferrari. During his trial in Hong Kong, Mr Ebert had raised in defence sudden intermittent brake failure. A technical engineer employed

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