ABSTRACT
This is a procedure whereby one party is forced to disclose to the other all documents relevant to the proceedings. In most jurisdictions of the region, leave of the court is necessary to obtain discovery. The discovering party must deliver a list or affidavit of documents containing the following information: • the documents relevant to the action that a party has in their possession,
custody or power, and is prepared to show the opponent (for example, all correspondence between the parties and, in a debt action, all invoices and receipts);
• the documents relevant to the action that a party has in their possession, but refuses to show, for instance, because they are privileged (for example, counsel’s opinions and letters between client and solicitor); and
• the documents relevant to the action that the party once had, but no longer has in their possession, custody, or power; details given must include what has happened to those documents (for example, original letters that have been sent to the addressees).
