Pilot Of New Disclosure Rules: A Change For The Better?

A Disclosure Working Group (the working group), chaired by Lady Justice Gloster, was set up in 2016 to consider the rules governing disclosure of documents in English litigation. This was prompted by court users' continuing concerns over the excessive burden and cost of disclosure, and the perception that previous attempts at reform had not produced real improvements.

The working group's proposals, which included drafts of a new practice direction (PD) and disclosure review document (DRD), were published in November 2017 and were subject to consultation until the end of February 2018 (see Opinion "Proposals for disclosure reform: do they fi t the bill?", www.practicallaw.com/w-012-8522).