Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 25 October 2010: DIFC Courts, the Dubai International Financial Centre's (DIFC) independent and common law judicial system, joined together with TRILANTIC, a global legal support company focussing on e-Disclosure solutions, late last week to coach some of the leading legal minds in the Middle East in the area of electronic disclosure.
The seminar was held as the DIFC Courts' newly established Rules Subcommittee considers the practice direction and e-disclosure rules for DIFC Courts. The Rules Subcommittee was inaugurated on 11th October 2010, and is tasked with providing recommendations for updates to The Rules of The DIFC Courts (RDC).
The panel comprised of Senior Master Whitaker, Senior Master of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, Queen's Bench Division, Sir Anthony Evans (Former Chief Justices of the DIFC Courts), Graham Lovett, Managing Partner of Clifford Chance Dubai and was moderated by Nigel Murray, Managing Director of TRILANTIC.
Senior Master Whitaker is leading the UK judiciary and the courts in their efforts to encourage parties to cost effectively and efficiently use technology to manage electronically stored information. He discussed recent developments in the UK and their relevance for the UAE, including a new Practice Direction and the Electronic Document Questionnaire which came into effect in England and Wales on 1st October 2010.
Nigel Murray is one of the leading experts in the management of electronic documentation for dispute resolution and outlined the benefits of some of the new technologies that will be available to GCC clients through TRILANTIC's newly established Dubai office.
Chief Justice Michael Hwang said: "Since their inception, the DIFC Courts have made great strides in providing efficient, accessible and transparent justice. This year we launched our new online case management system for users of the Courts to have even more ease of access to information, and our efforts are now focused on adopting e-disclosure best practices."
Steven Whitaker, Senior Master of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, Queen's Bench Division said: "Providing rules and guidance for the practice of E-disclosure is an important step forward for judicial systems across the world, as they encounter in litigation ever increasing volumes of electronic documentation. We live in an electronic world and, as such, disclosure practices must remain current and embrace the digital revolution. It is also important that parties to litigation familiarise themselves with the developing technologies which reduce the burden and expense of handling huge volumes of documentation. I am delighted to be here today to discuss e-disclosure in the UAE and indeed the GCC."