Disclosure: sanctions for non-compliance with disclosure obligations

This practice note considers what may happen when a party does not comply with their disclosure obligations in cases subject to the disclosure regime under Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 31, Practice Direction (PD) 31A and PD 31B.

Disclosure in the B&PCs: A mandatory (save for limited exceptions) Disclosure Pilot Scheme (DPS) (PD 51U) operated in the Business and Property Courts from 1 January 2019 until 1 October 2022. PD 57AD ("Disclosure in the Business and Property Courts") took effect on 1 October 2022, replacing PD 51U, and implementing, on a permanent basis, the procedures that operated under the DPS.PD 57AD sets out specific duties for parties and their legal representatives, and sanctions for failure to comply. For details of our materials considering the approach to disclosure under PD 57AD (and its predecessor, PD 51U), see Disclosure in the B&PCs toolkit.