Cross Border E-Discovery

Abstract

Abstract In the context of internal or regulatory investigations or other legal proceedings, companies located in Europe may be forced to disclose electronically stored information such as e-mails on short notice in order to comply with any such internal or regulatory request or applicable procedural electronic discovery regulations. These disclosure requirements may have considerable breadth, and non-compliance can lead to severe sanctions. Part I of this article describes the American procedure of e-discovery. Part II provides a brief description of the British concept of e-disclosure and considers how it differs from the American concepts of e-discovery. Part III shows - as one prominent example for civil code jurisdictions in the European Union (for an overview of other jurisdictions see The Sedona Conference, International Overview of Discovery, Data Privacy and Disclosure Requirements, September 2009) - the German regime for e-discovery requests and highlights some data protection issues to be observed. Part IV examines how the conflict existing between the common law concept of e-evidence and the civil law principles could be harmonized. Finally, part V gives some examples of how technology can be used to support e-discovery and to establish processes in compliance with applicable data privacy laws.