Discovery e-news | Issue 2

The month in summary

Over the last month, we have embarked on some preliminary consultations and research into the discovery process.  We are very grateful to those who have given us their time to talk about this inquiry and appreciate the contributions that have been made to our thinking to date.

So far we have had valuable discussions with some of the federal courts, including a number of judges and registrars, as well as the NSW Supreme Court.  We have also found great insights into the discovery process through consultations with legal practitioners.  We were lucky enough to speak with family law practitioners from different States on the back of a Family Law System Conference in Canberra.

In the month to come, we plan to continue our initial consultations with stakeholders in the lead up to the release of a public consultation paper.  We kicked off on 3 August with a consultation session with members of the NSW Bar Association, and look forward to meeting with others interested in this inquiry.  Also this month, we welcome two new interns to the ALRC who will be working on this inquiry.

Please take the time to visit our Discovery blog and post your comments.  Your insights and engagement in this Inquiry are most welcome!

Discuss: key messages from preliminary consultations with stakeholders

Over the last couple of weeks a number of key messages have begun to emerge through preliminary consultations with stakeholders.  First, there is the suggestion that the parties should be working more openly and collaboratively in developing the terms of discovery.  Currently, the burden falls upon the party seeking discovery to carefully draft a tightly worded application for the discovery of documents.  But the applicant is in an ill-informed position to do so, not knowing exactly what documents their opponent might or might not have in their possession, custody or control. 
 
Several options have been proposed for achieving a more transparent and focused discovery process.  It might involve a conference between the parties and the court …   Read the complete post on the Discovery blog and contribute to discussion >>

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