PRE-TRIAL PROCESS to be a thorough

stocktaking exercise by the

The process/procedure begins
judge.
after the close of pleadings and
includes: A. STOCKTAKING
discovery and inspection of Court can:
documents O24 ROC
Consider preparation of
interrogatories O26 ROC parties for trial
Matters to be dealt with
admissions O27 ROC interlocutory application
pre-trial case management Gives direction for
expeditious disposal
O34 ROC
Comparison of O25 RHC
Pre-trial process enables the
(Summons for direction) and
parties to the action to:
O34 (case management):
to get all the material facts Summons Case
to speed up the action for managemen
to ensure litigation is direction t
conducted expeditiously determine determine
every party to an action is whether the whether the
entitled to know beforehand case is now case is now
what case he has to meet at ready for ready for trial
the trial. trial
enables the enables the
court to court to
1. PRE-TRIAL CASE MANAGEMENT dispose of dispose of any
any outstanding
O34 r1(1): applies at any time outstanding matters
after commencement of the matters before
proceedings. before commenceme
Pre-trial Case management refers commencem nt of trial
to action begun by writ. ent of trial
O25 r1(1): O34 r1(1): at
The P shall not later than 14 days Within 1 any time after
after the close of pleadings cause month of commenceme
to be issued a notice from the close of nt of
court requiring the parties to the pleadings proceedings
action to attend before the judge. (Form 46 (Form 59
It is intended Summons) Notice)
O25 r1(2): O34 r1,2:
to enable the parties to applies to applies to all
speed up the pre-trial action begun proceedings
process through the by writ
direction of the court; O25 r1(4): O34 r6: failure
 Ps failure to to attend; - Delay in filing Witness
attend will (1)Ct may Statement
allow D to dismiss - Lawyer assumed date for
dismiss action direction was postponed
action (2)Ex-parte because trial was
order may postponed
be set - Case was struck out
aside
(3)Ct may ii. DISMISSAL FOR WANT OF
adjourn CM PROSECUTION (025 RHC)
Parties Parties attend
attend PTCM Means: the P did not do
hearing of what he supposed to do
summons
Tan Geok Lan Vasudeban (FC)
- P did not issue summons for
Held: O34 (CM) enables the ct to direction after 7 years, writ
control the progress of a case. was issued
- Case was truck out
B. PROCEDURE OF CM
2. DISCOVERY (O.24)
O34 r3 notification in Form
59 Means: discovery is the process of
O34 rr 1 & 2 matters for finding out material facts and
consideration, orders and documents from an adversary
direction to be made
O34 r4 attendance at pre- Purpose:
trial CM To provide parties with
O34 r5 adjournment relevant documentary material
O34 r6 failure to attend for appraisal of strength or
O34 rr1(3) & 2(3) failure to weakness before trial.
comply
To provide basis of fair
C. COMPARE TO PREVIOUS RULES disposal of the proceedings
OF HC before trial.

i. FAILURE TO COMPLY (O34

RHC)
O34 r7: if party A fails to
comply with any direction
given by the ct, ct may
make an order against party
A.
Hong Leong Assurance Bhd v
American Home
To enable parties to use or
before the trial or adduce in
evidence at the trial relevant
documentary material to
support or rebut the case
made by or against them.
To eliminate the element of
surprise relating to the
documentary evidence.
 To save time of parties, court,
and counsel thus, reducing
cost of litigation. EXCEPTION:
i. in personal injury
A. THE PROCESS OF DISCOVERY actions, a stranger such
GENERALLY OPERATES IN 3 as the hospital which has
STAGES: treated the plaintiff may
be ordered by summons
i. disclosure of the
to give discovery
existence of
ii. a stranger who though
documents;
not personally liable but
ii. inspection and taking
who through no fault of
of copies; and
his, has got mixed in the
iii. production
tortious acts of others so
Teoh Peng Phe v Wan as to facilitate their
wrongdoing he may incur
- the ct identifies 3 modes of
no personal liability but
discovery
he comes under a duty
disclosure of the
to assist the injured
existence of
party (O24 r7A(5)
documents
inspection of
documents Norwich Pharmacal Co v
interrogatories; but Commissioners of Customs &
the term discovery Excise
is often used as - The second exception is
meaning of disclosure now known as the principle
and inspection in Norwich Pharmacal
considered as one - Lord Reid said that justice
requires that [the
B. DISCOVERY AGAINST 3RD PARTY stranger] should co-
GR:
operate in righting the
- discovery is only allowed
wrong if he unwittingly
against a person who is a
facilitates its
party to the proceeding and
perpetration.
not against third parties.
- Applying this principle, the
- It is improper to join a
House of Lords ordered the
person as a party merely for
disclosure of documents
the purpose of obtaining
identifying the importers of
discovery against him.
a chemical compound in
Proper Procedure: respect of which the
- call him as a witness to give appellants held a patent
oral testimony which they alleged was
- serve a subpoena duces being infringed by illicit
tecum (subpoena for imports of the compound
document) from abroad.
- A limitation on the principle - Lord Denning MR said that
as laid down in Norwich in order to enable funds to
Pharmacal is that be traced, it was 'a very
discovery will not lie important part of the court's
against a stranger who armoury to be able to order
is uninvolved with the discovery
wrongdoing and did not - His Lordship relied upon
facilitate its commission, Norwich Pharmacal for the
merely because he can give principle of requiring a third
information as to the party to give information
identity of the wrongdoer - The Court of Appeal ordered
without which the plaintiff is the disclosure by a third
unable to proceed. party bank of all
correspondence, cheques,
However; debit vouchers, transfer
CHC Software Care Ltd v applications, orders or
Hopkins and Woods internal memoranda
relating to any account
- the court extended the maintained by the alleged
principle holding that it is fraudsters.
not limited to the
identification of
wrongdoers. Arab Monetary Fund v
- The plaintiff had received Hashim & Ors
threatening letters and
obtained an order for - Held: an order for discovery
discovery against a firm of can be made against a
solicitors who had the stranger to disclose
names and addresses of the information about the
persons to whom similar location of missing assets
letters had been sent. where, in a proprietary
- These persons were not claim to recover them, the
wrongdoers but their party applying can show
identity and copies of the that such disclosure will
letters which they had give a real prospect that the
received were relevant to assets will be located and
the pursuit of the plaintiffs preserved.
action. - But the potential advantage
to the party applying for the
order of it being made must
Bankers trust Co v Shapira be weighed against the
potential harm to the
- The Court of Appeal stranger against whom it is
approved of discovery sought.
against third parties in aid
of tracing claims.
First Malaysia Finance Bhd v Dato
Mohd Fathi
O24 r7A(5) gives statutory effect
to Norwich Pharmacal principle.
C. NO COLLATERAL USE OF
INFORMATION
Where a document is disclosed on
discovery, there is an implied
undertaking by the party to whom
the document is disclosed not to
use, without leave of the court,
the document or any information
obtained from it for any purpose
otherwise than in the proceedings
in which the document is
disclosed.
Therefore, if the court apprehends
that there is a real risk of a party
using his right to discovery for a
collateral purpose, the court has
power to impose restrictions on
inspection in order to prevent or
discourage him from doing so.
Mahfar bin Alwee v Jejaka Megan
Sdn Bhd
Discover is no longer automatic -
will be made on an order obtained
by a party (upon application of a
party)
RHM Foods v Bovril
- The normal stage for
general discovery is after
close of pleadings.
- This is because discovery is
predicated on the issues in
the case, which are
generally known only after
the parties have formulated
them in their pleadings
D. SCOPE OF DISCOVERY
Documents which are subject to
discovery are documents which
are or have been in his (the
party's) possession, custody or
power.

For instance, the court can refuse Possession: legal right

an order for inspection except on Custody: physical possession of a
an undertaking given by the party document may constitute custody.
seeking the order.
Power: legal right
In addition, any action which is
based on the misuse of a Lonrho v Shell Petroleum
document is liable to be struck
- defined power as a
out as an abuse of the process of
presently enforceable legal
the court
right to obtain from
Riddick v Thames Board Mills Ltd whoever actually holds the
document inspection of it
Document discovered shall not be without the need to obtain
used for other purposes. the consent of anyone else.
Rotta Research Laboratorium SpA - Therefore, documents in the
v Ho Tack Sien possession of subsidiary
companies were not in the
The power to order discovery of power of the parent
any document is at the discretion company where the
of the court subsidiary companies had
independent boards of
 directors who refused to In short, interrogatories allow one
disclose documents after party to administer a series of
considering what was in the question to the other, and compel
best interests of their that other to answer them on
companies. oath before trial.
A. PURPOSE
- The object is that the
O24 r3(4): Documents which may answers given to the
be ordered to be discovered are: questions or
(a) documents on which the Interrogatories should
party relies or will rely; and save trouble and expense in
(b)documents which could - preparing for the trial.
i. adversely affect the - Interrogatories may be
party's own case; useful in ascertaining
ii. adversely affect another information directly relevant
party's case; or to the case
iii. support another party's - However, interrogatories
case are often used to obtain the
name of witnesses and
ascertain the existence of
E. PROTECTION AGAINST documents (or other
DISCOVERY evidence) that will be
examined further by
O73 r10 ROC: O24 not apply in discovery of documents
civil proceeding if government is a - Sometimes, both discovery
party of documents and
S. 36(1) of the Government interrogatories are
Proceedings Act 1956, shall be necessary.
construed as not requiring the - When this is so, discovery of
disclosure of the existence of any documents will generally
document the existence of which come first.
it would, in the opinion of a - Inspection of the documents
Minister be injurious to the public disclosed may render the
interest to disclose. proposed interrogatories or
some of them unnecessary.
3. INTERROGATORIES
B. IT IS AT CTS DISCRETION
Meaning:
Sheikh Abdullah v Kang Kock
Interrogatories are written
Seng
questions submitted to a party by
another party. Ct did not consider the application
at all because P did not give
The party receiving the
reasons for presenting
interrogatories must submit
interrogatories after the close of
answers made on oath.
pleadings
C. GROUNDS FOR OBJECTION i. Scandalous or irrelevant
ii. Not bona fide
Pertubohan Berita Nasional v iii. Matters enquired as
Stephen Kalong Ningkan premature
Party ordered to answer iv. Matters enquired are
interrogatories may object on privilege
these grounds: