The Australian Chief Justice released the following Practice Note last week….
Practice Notes issued by the Chief Justice
No. 17. The use of technology in the management of discovery and the conduct of litigation
1. Introduction
1.1 This Practice Note replaces Practice Note No 17 issued on 20 April 2000.
1.2 Unless the Court otherwise orders, this Practice Note applies to any proceeding in which the Court has ordered that:
(a) discovery be given of documents in an electronic format; or
(b) a hearing be conducted using documents in an electronic format.
1.3 It may be expected that an order of the nature mentioned in paragraph 1.2 will be made in any proceeding in which:
(a) a significant number (in most cases, 200 or more) of the documents relevant to the proceeding have been created or are stored in an electronic format; and
(b) the use of technology in the management of documents and conduct of the proceeding will help facilitate the quick, inexpensive and efficient resolution of the matter.
1.4 Existing Court rules and Practice Notes governing discovery and other litigation processes continue to apply unless the Court or a Judge otherwise orders.
1.5 Technical expressions used in this Practice Note and Related Materials are defined in the Glossary.
1.6 This Practice Note and the Related Materials mentioned in paragraph 11.1 below are available from the Court’s web site at http://www.fedcourt.gov.au .
2. Purpose
2.1 The purpose of this Practice Note and Related Materials is to encourage and facilitate the effective use of technology in proceedings before the Court by:
(a) setting out the Court’s expectations of how technology should be used in the conduct of proceedings before it; and
(b) recommending a framework for the management of documents electronically in the discovery process and the conduct of trials.
Read the full text here: http://www.fedcourt.gov.au/how/practice_notes_cj17.htm
Also the e-disclosure Information Project Blog has posted on the new practice note at: http://chrisdale.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/discovery-practice-note-issued-in-australia/
