Discovery
From United States and other common law
Procedure and evidence
What it means
A pre-trial stage in which each side can demand documents, written answers and testimony from the other. It is a major feature of American civil litigation.
Why it travels badly
Civil-law procedure normally has no such stage: the judge directs evidence, and parties are not generally required to hand over broad categories of documents to the other side. The concept does not fit inside the process.
How other systems say it
no equivalent
Parties usually produce the documents they rely on, and the court decides what evidence to take. There is no broad pre-trial discovery.
communication de pièces
Parties exchange the documents they rely on, under the judge's control, and cannot demand wide categories of documents.
disclosure
A duty to disclose documents that help or harm a case, narrower than American discovery.
Tip for translators and students
Many civil-law countries have made a reservation to the Hague Evidence Convention about 'pre-trial discovery of documents', which shows how differently the idea is received.
See the Legal Dictionary entry →
Related: Jury and lay judges, Punitive damages
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
TheLawToKnow Tools’s glossary is an educational overview of the main differences between legal systems. It is not legal advice.
