The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today released a Consultation Paper for the Inquiry into Discovery of Documents in Federal Courts—Discovery in Federal Courts (ALRC CP 2, 2010).
The 2009 Access to Justice Taskforce report—established by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, which recommended that the ALRC conduct this Inquiry—noted that the high and disproportionate cost of discovery can impose a barrier to justice in court based dispute resolution. While the truth-seeking purposes of discovery may promote fairness in litigation, the commercial realities of contemporary discovery practice and procedure may threaten the very same fairness and justice sought to be achieved.
For full details, see http://www.alrc.gov.au/news-media/media-release/alrc-releases-consultation-paper-discovery
