The amendments to the Disclosure Pilot under CPR Practice Direction (PD) 51U, which were published by the Disclosure Working Group in July this year (see our previous post), have come into force today under the 136th CPR PD Update.
As previously reported, the amendments streamline the pilot rules, in particular as to the process for agreeing lists of issues for disclosure and associated disclosure models, as well as introducing new flexibility for multi-party cases and a new regime for less complex claims.
The pilot has been running in the Business and Property Courts since the beginning of 2019. Initially intended as a two-year pilot, it has been extended twice and is now due to finish at the end of 2022.
We expect this is likely to be the last extension to the pilot, with a decision being taken before the end of next year as to the final version of the disclosure rules. In advance of that decision, we understand that there will be further consultation with the judiciary and with court users, including in order to assess whether and to what extent the pilot saves costs.
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