Discovery is the identification of information. Electronic Discovery focuses on the discovery of digital information. The equivalent of triplicate paper copies of a single letter in the digital era are the monthly backup tapes that potentially store 12 duplicates of the same e-mail message during the course of a year.

Electronic data, be it in a permanent or ephemeral state, can be stored in a multitude of devices (home computer, server, tape, smart phone, iPhone, iPad, or laptop) and paper is stored in a single place with a single point of access. Paper data is captured with pen to paper on a tangible physical medium that one can touch, smell, and feel and an e-mail is a string of 1’s and 0’s translated by a device for whatever medium is receiving the data and presenting to the user. This article considers recent changes to discovery rules in New Zealand.

Discovery in litigation involves the identification of information for the purpose of legal proceedings. Electronic discovery focuses on the discovery of digital information. This paper considers recent changes to discovery rules in New Zealand.

The New Zealand High Court Rules Committee recommended changes to the discovery rules, which are now embodied in the High Court Amendment Rules (No 2) 2011 – the new discovery rules – which make significant changes to the existing High Court Rules for discovery and inspection. Several new principles are introduced, such as co-operation and proportionality. Associated with these principles are new duties that require the preservation of documents, often before proceedings are commenced, and the duty of disclosure of documents when pleadings are filed. The High Court Amendment Rules provide a discovery checklist with which parties must consult, and depending on the specific facts of a case, may be required to make standard or tailored discovery. The High Court Amendment Rules also introduce a new listing and exchange protocol, with inspection to take place by way of electronic exchange. The new High Court Rules for Discovery entered into force on 1 February 2012. We shall first outline in brief some of the main changes to the discovery rules and then turn to consider the use of technology in relation to electronic discovery and the way in which the new rules deal with this.

To read the full article, go to Digital Evidence and Electronic Signature Law Review.