This Practice Note considers data protection issues that should or may be considered during disclosure in civil proceedings. It looks at the role of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regimes during the disclosure process, the processing of personal data and special category data during disclosure, redaction of personal data, the position in relation to documents subject to legal professional privilege (LPP) under relevant data protection provisions and data subject access requests (DSARs). This Practice Note considers: • the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR) regime • the UK version of the EU GDPR, which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and • the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018), which sits alongside the UK GDPR It should be noted that the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025) received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025. Some provisions immediately

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. For guidance on foreign language documents and translations, see Practice Note: Cross-border evidence and disclosure—a guide for dispute resolution practitioners, specifically main sections Foreign language documents, Translations—is there an obligation to disclose? and Translations—can translations be privileged? This Practice Note provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in which the matter is proceeding, additional provisions may be set out in the relevant court guide. For assistance, see Court specific guidance below. For general guidance on identifying which documents might be disclosable, see Practice Notes: • Disclosure under CPR 31—introduction • Disclosure—identifying documents • Disclosure—standard disclosure and the reasonable search Do I have to translate foreign language documents? There is no legal obligation to provide a translation of disclosable foreign language documents. The disclosure scheme in operation in the Business and Property Courts specifically provides that there is no requirement to translate a foreign language document when giving either: • Initial Disclosure

Grounds for objecting to inspection A party is (generally) entitled to inspect documents which: • have been disclosed to them pursuant to CPR 31.3—for general guidance on inspection, see Practice Note: Disclosure—inspection • have been mentioned in a statement of case, witness statement, etc—for more detail, see Practice Note: Disclosure—inspection—Inspection of documents referred to in statements of case, witness statements • have been mentioned in an expert report under CPR 35.10(4)—for more guidance, see Practice Note: Disclosure—inspection—What can be inspected? However, on occasion, the disclosing party may have a duty or entitlement to withhold some of those documents from inspection under CPR 31.3(1)(b) and CPR 31.19(3). A number of grounds for objecting to inspection exist, including: • the documents are irrelevant and therefore not disclosable—for more detail, see Practice Note: Disclosure—standard disclosure and the reasonable search • the documents are no longer under the disclosing party's control—for more detail, see below • CPR 31.3(2) provides that where a party considers that it would be disproportionate to allow the inspection of documents within

This Practice Note explains the process of identifying documents relevant to the issues in dispute and which may need to be disclosed under Part 31 of the CPR. It provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in which your matter is proceeding, you may also need to be aware of additional provisions—see Court specific guidance below. Initial stages Immediately on receipt of instructions you should ask the client about and consider the entirety of the universe of documents in the client’s control, as well as enquiring how your client manages and stores information (especially electronic). For background information on electronic documents, see Practice Note: Electronic disclosure—CPR Practice Direction 31B—Guidance on scope of e-disclosure Your client may not know or want to engage in such discussions at that point but it is advisable to persevere to ensure the task of disclosure is manageable if and when it arises. See Practice Notes: Determining legal practitioners’ disclosure duties and Determining parties’ disclosure duties. You can isolate potential issues surrounding

This Practice Note provides guidance on the scope of inspection in the context of disclosure under Part 31 of the CPR in civil litigation proceedings. ADVISORY NOTE this Practice Note refers to Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (UK GDPR).which came into force In England and Wales on IP completion day ( 31 December 2020 at 11pm). For background, see Practice Note: Brexit—implications for data protection [Archived]. This Practice Note provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in which your matter is proceeding, you may also need to be aware of additional provisions—see: Court specific guidance. This Practice Note should be read in conjunction with Practice Notes: • Disclosure—preparing the list of documents under Part 31 • Disclosure—grounds for objecting to inspection under CPR 31.19—for information on the grounds on which a disclosing party may have a duty or right to withhold documents from inspection This Practice Note does not address disclosure and inspection requirements under the disclosure scheme operating in the Business and Property Courts. For information

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note sets out practical tips for conducting a reasonable search for standard disclosure under CPR 31.7 such as timing, the Electronic Documents Questionnaire (EDQ), strategy, proportionality, co-operation and collaboration. Cost shifting is also considered ie shifting the costs to the other party through the court ordering the costs associated with disclosure (or part of it, such as restoration), be apportioned between the parties. This Practice Note ought to be read in conjunction with Practice Notes: • Disclosure under CPR 31—introduction • Disclosure—standard disclosure and the reasonable search • Disclosure—processing documents This Practice Note does not cover the provisions of the disclosure scheme in the Business and Property Courts. For guidance, see: Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Courts)—overview. General Disclosure can be a daunting task. The following provide tips to try and make the process more manageable: • start early: you should try and start the disclosure process as early as possible. The benefit of doing

This Practice Note provides guidance on preparing the list of documents when giving standard disclosure under Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), CPR PD 31A and CPR PD 31B. It explains how to complete the list of documents, the different categories of documents that must be disclosed, the handling of documents that are no longer in a party’s control, the treatment of electronic material, and the requirements of the disclosure statement. This Practice Note does not intend to cover the claims that are subject to the disclosure scheme in the Business and Property Courts. For further guidance on this, see: Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Courts)—overview. For general guidance on data protection obligations in dispute resolution, see Practice Notes: Dispute resolution—data protection and GDPR considerations and Disclosure—data protection and GDPR considerations. This Practice Note provides guidance on relevant provisions of the CPR. For court specific information, see: Court specific guidance below. Completing the list of documents As part of the procedure

This Practice Note sets out the obligations under Practice Direction 31B, para 7 which apply once litigation is contemplated in relation to the preservation of documents and the consequences and considerations in relation to specific aspects of disclosure such as dealing with back up tapes, computers, notebooks, laptops, portable storage devices and handheld devices as well as social media accounts. The possible consequences of failing to preserve disclosable documents are also addressed. Note: This Practice Note does not cover the provisions of the disclosure scheme operating in the Business and Property Courts where duties to preserve documents also apply. For guidance on that, see: Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Courts)—overview. Obligations CPR PD 31B, which deals with the disclosure of electronic documents, expressly requires a legal adviser to advise their client to preserve disclosable documents as soon as they are instructed to deal with a dispute; where the claim has, or is likely to be, allocated to the multi-track. In any event, putting in place processes whereby potentially disclosable documents are preserved is sensible where you would wish to

This Practice Note sets out the general principles that apply when processing and reviewing documents for disclosure under CPR 31, including CPR PD 31B and the overriding objective. This Practice Note does not cover the disclosure scheme operating in the Business and Property Courts. For guidance on that scheme, see: Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Courts)—overview. Processing—general principles Once documents have been obtained from a client and other possible sources, you need to determine whether they are disclosable. The extent to which documents are, will largely depend on the court and track in and on which your claim is proceeding and any disclosure order made by the court. For further guidance, see: Track specific case management—overview and Court-specific case management—overview. If you have not already done so, consider any obligations under the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) in relation to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data. Typically, evidence involved in the disclosure process will include personal

This Practice Note looks at the redaction of information or data in disclosure in civil proceedings. It considers the reasons for redacting documents, such as to maintain confidentiality/privilege and avoid irrelevance, the information that can be redacted, the courts’ approach to redacting information and practical matters. Redaction is the process by which part of the text, data or graphics in a document is obscured or 'masked' (the word ‘information’ being used below to cover all of these). This can be a means of seeking to maintain the confidentiality of information, most commonly, a name (whether or an individual, entity, process, etc). Redacted documents can form part of any litigation. Disclosure scheme in the Business and Property Courts Consider if the proceedings are subject to the disclosure scheme operating in the Business and Property Courts. For guidance, see: Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Courts)—overview, and in particular in relation to the provisions on redaction in the disclosure scheme, see Practice Note: Disclosure Scheme—how to comply with disclosure orders and obligations. What information can be redacted? A party is permitted

General This Practice Note provides information on how to undertake the review of documents for the purposes of disclosure. The process involves reviewing the collated documentary evidence on your client’s side and deciding which of those documents should be disclosed. To do this effectively means having in place: • strategies to limit the scope of documents to be reviewed • a review team • targets for the review team • the right tools for the job • communication with the client This Practice Note relates to a party’s disclosure obligations under CPR 31 and does not cover the provisions of the disclosure scheme operating in the Business and Property Courts. For further guidance, see: Disclosure Scheme (Business & Property Courts)—overview and Which disclosure rules apply to my claim—flowchart?. For general guidance on some of the terminology used in this Practice Note, see Practice Note: Disclosure—technical glossary. Strategies to limit the scope of documents to be reviewed Some of these issues you will already have discussed with your client and the other parties, for instance

This Practice Note provides an overview of the purpose, nature and scope of the disclosure exercise that is carried out by a seller in connection with the acquisition of shares in a private limited company or the acquisition of a business and its assets (the target). The disclosure process is a fundamental part of the sale transaction and the parties should not underestimate the time and resources required to carry it out effectively. By obtaining appropriate professional advice, the parties can help to avoid or mitigate any potential risks that may arise. The seller will need to review each warranty in detail with its advisers and consider what disclosures it needs to make against each warranty, as inadequate disclosures may mean that the seller is exposing itself to potential breach of warranty claims. The seller’s solicitors will co-ordinate the disclosure exercise and draft the disclosure letter in conjunction with the seller and its management team. This can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. The disclosure exercise is usually started early on in the transaction and is