RAS Social ScienceGosudarstvo i pravo

  • ISSN (Print) 1026-9452
  • ISSN (Online)2713-0398

Digitalization of civil proceedings in the USA: consolidation of the procedure for electronic disclosure of evidence (“e-discovery”)

PII
S102694520022769-6-
DOI
10.31857/S102694520022769-6
Publication type
Article
Status
Published
Authors
Volume/ Edition
Volume / Issue 11
Pages
155-164
Abstract

The article notes that electronic disclosure of evidence (“e-discovery”) refers to the disclosure of evidence during the pre-trial stage of court proceedings, such as civil proceedings (litigation) or government investigations, when the requested information is in electronic format. Electronic information is considered different from paper because of its immaterial form, volume, transience and impermanence. Electronic information is usually accompanied by metadata, which is not present in paper documents and which can play an important role as evidence. The main document that allowed the digitalization of US civil proceedings was the amendments of 2006 and 2015 to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governing the conduct of Court proceedings in US federal Courts. It is emphasized that one of the most hotly contested aspects of electronic disclosure of evidence has become the problem of electronic data security. The destruction of emails and other electronic data is as egregious and punishable by the court as the destruction of other documentary evidence related to a civil lawsuit. The decision in the case “Zubulake v. UBS Warburg” 2005 established important practices regarding “e-discovery”. In addition, this decision showed that various specialists can be involved in the project of electronic disclosure of evidence: lawyers of the parties, forensic experts, IT managers and office managers. In this regard, the comparative analysis of the above issues is of particular importance.

Keywords
US civil procedure, disclosure of evidence, electronic evidence, electronic records, pre-trial stage of civil procedure
Date of publication
29.11.2022
Number of purchasers
13
Views
607

References

  1. 1. Abolonin G.O. Initiation of civil proceedings and exchange of adversarial procedural documents (pleadings), pre-trial presentation of evidence (discovery) in US civil proceedings // Herald of Civil Procedure. 2014. No. 3, P. 158 – 218 (in Russ.).
  2. 2. Artemyeva Yu. A., Ermakova E.P., Kovyrshina N.A., Rusakova E.P. Methods of dispute resolution in multi-system legal systems: textbook. M., 2017 (in Russ.).
  3. 3. Civil procedure of foreign countries: textbook / ed. by A.G. Davtyan. M., 2012 (in Russ.).
  4. 4. Eliseev N.G. Civil Procedural Law of foreign countries: Sources, judicial system, jurisdiction: textbook. M., 2010. P. 271 - 279 (in Russ.).
  5. 5. Ermakova E.P. Reforms of civil proceedings, arbitration and mediation in foreign countries 2014 - 2018. (Australia, England, Germany, Canada, USA, France). M., 2018. P. 142 - 152 (in Russ.).
  6. 6. Ermakova E.P., Frolova E.E. Artificial intelligence in civil proceedings and arbitration: the experience of the USA and China. M., 2021. P. 111 - 132 (in Russ.).
  7. 7. Puchinsky V.K. Civil procedure of the USA. M., 1985. P. 56 - 60 (in Russ.).
  8. 8. Reshetnikova I.V. Evidentiary law of England and the USA. 3rd ed., rev. and supplemented. M., 2021 (in Russ.).
  9. 9. Ball C. (2021). Why E-Discovery and Digital Evidence? // Craig Ball. 03 Aug 2021. URL: https://craigball.net/2021/08/03/why-e-discovery-and-digital-evidence/ (accessed: 07.11.2021).
  10. 10. Curran V. (2017). U.S. Discovery in a Transnational and Digital Age and the Increasing Need for Comparative Analysis // Akron Law Review. Vol. 51. P. 857 (2017). URL: https://scholarship.law.pitt.edu/fac_articles/57 (accessed: 11.11.2021).
  11. 11. De St. Aubin M. (2007). E-Discovery: The Federal Rules in the Digital Age// SGR Insights. Issue 18, Spring 2007. URL: https://sgrlaw.com/ttl-articles/820/ (accessed: 11.11.2021).
  12. 12. Hill J. (2019). The growth of e-discovery// 05.03. 2019. URL: https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/commercial-awareness/commercial-insights/the-growth-of-e-discovery- (accessed: 11.11.2021).
  13. 13. Mehra A. (2021). E-discovery Market worth $12.9 billion by 2025 // Market sand Markets Research Private Ltd. URL: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/e-discovery.asp (accessed: 11.11.2021).
  14. 14. Murray D. et al (2007). Discovery in a Digital Age: Electronically Stored Information and the New Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure// Uniform Commercial Code Law Journal. 2007. Vol. 34. No. 4. P. 509 - 531. URL: https://jenner.com/system/assets/assets/1172/original/MurrayChorvatBell.pdf?1317747105 (accessed: 07.11.2021).
  15. 15. Quinn Emanuel (2016). How Major Changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Will Impact Business Litigation// Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. URL: https://www.quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/publications/article-march-2016-how-major-changes-to-the-federal-rules-of-civil-procedure-will-impact-business-litigation/ (accessed: 06.11.2021).
  16. 16. Ward B. et al (2007). Computer Forensics, E-Discovery, and Spoliation: Impact of the New Federal Rules // AMCIS 2007. Proceedings. Paper 153. URL: http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2007/153 (accessed: 11.11.2021).
  17. 17. Williams J. (2021). The e-Discovery and Information Governance Law Review: USA// Law Business Research. 04 May 2021. URL: https://thelawreviews.co.uk/title/the-e-discovery-and-information-governance-law-review/usa#:~:text=Thus%2C%20the%20Federal%20Rules%20envision,with%20increasing%20e%2Ddiscovery%20costs (accessed: 07.11.2021).
  18. 18. Withers K. (2001). Computer-Based Disclosure and Discovery in Civil Litigation. Commentary // The Journal of Information, Law and Technology (JILT) 2001 (1). URL: https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/elecdi01_1.pdf (accessed: 03.11.2021).
QR
Translate

Индексирование

Scopus

Scopus

Scopus

Crossref

Scopus

Higher Attestation Commission

At the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Scopus

Scientific Electronic Library