Kensington Swan
Added: Feb 8, 2012
There has been a significant change to the New Zealand legal landscape. From 1 February 2012, new discovery rules covering litigation in the New Zealand High Court came into effect by way of amendment to the High Court Rules.
The intent of these changes is to make discovery more streamlined and flexible. This includes:
changing the test of relevance from the train of enquiry test to a narrower test of whether the document 'helps or hinders' a party's case
giving the parties the option of a 'standard discovery' or 'tailored discovery'
making electronic listing and exchange of documents the form for discovery unless both parties agree otherwise.
An important feature of the new Rules, and one that is likely to impact on your organisation, is the express duty to preserve documents.