The new model search & imaging order lacks the clarity needed for the digital age, argues Mary Young
- The revised model search and imaging order brings a much-needed upgrade, but it leaves unresolved gaps around privilege, cloud-based data and enforcement.
- This article examines what’s changed, what hasn’t and why supervising solicitors still face uncertainty.
In January 2024, I wrote about why the standard format search and imaging orders needed an upgrade to make them fit for purpose in a world where most documentary evidence is in digital form and much of that is stored on cloud-based systems (‘Civil fraud: it’s time for a digital upgrade’, 174 NLJ 8056, p11). My concerns arose in relation to certain gaps in the process that could give rise to uncertainties, in particular in respect of decisions that might need to be made by anyone appointed as a supervising solicitor under a search and/or imaging order.
On 6 April 2025, a new model search and imaging order came into force. The
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