New Disclosure Obligations for Multi-Track Litigants

Introduction

All litigants are obliged to disclose and permit inspection of documents which either support or undermine their case.

However all new multi-track cases¹ which are commenced on or after 1 October 2010 will be subject to more rigorous requirements in relation to electronic disclosure ("edisclosure") and it is important that all litigants are aware of their obligations.

In practical terms, this means that all parties must consider electronic disclosure at a much earlier stage than is currently the case.

What is Electronic Disclosure?

A "document" is anything in which information of any description is recorded. Electronic disclosure includes text messages, audio and visual recordings, information held on portable devices (eg PDAs and memory sticks), computer hard drives, disks, mail servers and back-up systems, electronic diaries, photographs, voicemail, and, most importantly, e-mail. It also includes any data which has been deleted, and metadata.