Discovery e-news | Issue 8

This is the penultimate e-newsletter for the discovery inquiry—to let you know that the report has now been given to the Attorney-General, on time, on the 31 March. The final e-newsletter will be to let you know that the report has been tabled, and where you can read it or get a copy.  Until then, the final conclusions and the recommendations made are kept under wraps.
 
This e-newsletter provides a quick snapshot of  statistics about the project.
 
There were:

• 4 part-time Commissioners (all Federal Court judges)
• 12 members of the expert Advisory Committee (plus the part-time Commissioners)
• 218 subscribers to e-newsletter
• 2381 hits on the discovery blog
• 47 consultations
• 30 submissions

The consultations were held with a number of government agencies, academics, judges, members of the legal profession, litigation funders, community legal centres and public interest advocates. Submissions were received, for example, from the Family Court of Australia, Australian Government departments, professional bodies, law firms, individuals, public interest organisations, academics, community legal centres and firms specialising in document management. To get their submissions in, stakeholders in Brisbane not only had the tight timetable to contend with, but also the challenge of the floods.

The end result is:

• a report of 385 pages
• a Summary Report  of 28 pages
• 27 policy recommendations for improving the practical operation and effectiveness of discovery of documents in federal courts

Watch this space…..