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Grounds for objecting to inspection

A party is (generally) entitled to inspect documents which:

1. •

   have been disclosed to them pursuant to CPR 31.3—see Practice Note: Disclosure—inspection

2. •

   have been mentioned in a statement of case, witness statement, etc—see Practice Note: Disclosure—inspection—Inspection of documents referred to in statements of case, witness statements

3. •

   have been mentioned in an expert report under CPR 35.10(4)—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 document from inspection under CPR 31.3(1)(b) and CPR 31.19(3).

A number of grounds for objecting to inspection exist, including:

1. •

   the documents are irrelevant and therefore not disclosable—see Practice Notes: Disclosure—standard disclosure and the reasonable search and Disclosure: practical tips on conducting a reasonable search (standard disclosure) [Archived]

2. •

   the documents no longer under the disclosing party's control—see below

3. •

   it may be disproportionate to the issues in dispute to permit inspection of a certain category of documents—see below

4. •

   your client may be able to withhold inspection