Family Law

Her Honour Nasreen Pearce

Retired Circuit Judge

David Burrows

Solicitor Advocate:

E-disclosure in the context of civil proceedings and its possible use in family proceedings was considered in Part 1 ([2013] Fam Law 167). Since then the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2013 (SI 2013/262) which reflects reforms proposed by Jackson LJ hs been published and will take effect from 1 April 2013.

The amendments to CPR 1998, r 31.5 extends the case management duties to include managing the overall costs of litigation and managing disclosure within the scope of the overriding objective and with the emphasis on proportionality. Jackson LJ has stated that few solicitors and even fewer barristers understand how to tackle e-disclosure in an effective way. The extended CPR 1998, r 31.5 makes provisions to address this issue. Part 2 - E-disclosure and its use in family proceedings: the impact of Jackson reforms reflects these amendments and its link with CPR 1998 PD31B. It also sets out the deficiencies of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) and argues that in the absence of provision in the FPR 2010 the common law and the CPR 1998, Pt 31 and PD31B where appropriate should apply in family proceedings and its use in financial remedy proceedings should be given serious consideration.

The full version of this article appears in the April 2013 issue of Family Law.