The new rule, which came into force on 30 March 2026 in the Cayman Islands, provides a structured mechanism to obtain discovery of documents before  proceedings are commenced and from a non-party to existing proceedings.

Rule 7(A) establishes two distinct categories of application. Under Rule 7(A)(1), a prospective litigant may apply to the Grand Court for discovery prior to proceedings being initiated. This application is made by way of originating summons, and the person against whom the order is sought is named as the defendant to the summons.

Meanwhile, Rule 7(A)(2) allows a party to existing proceedings to apply for an order for discovery by a person who is not a party to the proceedings. This application is made by summons and must be served on that person personally and on every party to the proceedings.

Both types of application must be supported by affidavit evidence. In the case of pre-action discovery, the supporting affidavit must state the grounds on which it is alleged that the applicant and the named person are likely to be parties to subsequent proceedings before the court.

In both cases, the affidavit must specify or describe the documents sought and demonstrate, if practicable by reference to any pleading served or intended to be served, that the documents are relevant to an issue arising or likely to arise in the proceedings and that the respondent is likely to have or have had them in their possession, custody, or power.

The court retains wide discretion under Rule 7(A)(5) to make the order for discovery conditional on the applicant providing security for the costs of the respondent, or on such other terms as the court thinks just. The discovery order must also require the respondent to make an affidavit stating whether any documents sought are, or have at any time been, in their possession, custody or power, and if not, when they parted with them and what has become of them.

Rule 7(A)(6) contains an important limitation: no person shall be compelled by a discovery order under Rule 7(A) to produce any documents he otherwise could not be compelled to produce:

• in the case of pre-action discovery, if the subsequent proceedings had already begun; or
• in the case of non-party discovery, if he had already been served with a writ of subpoena duces tecum  to produce the documents at trial.

The new Rule 7(A) closely mirrors the language of Hong Kong’s Order 24, Rule 7A of the Rules of the High Court, which is modelled on the former English Rules of the Supreme Court that also forms the basis of the Cayman Islands provision.

There are however noteworthy differences between Rule 7(A) and the equivalent rules in England and Wales, which are set out in UK CPR 31.16 and 31.17. In the case of pre-action discovery, CPR 31.16(1)(d) additionally requires that the disclosure sought must be “desirable in order to dispose fairly of the anticipated proceedings; assist the dispute to be resulted without proceedings; or save costs.” For non-party discovery, CPR 31.17(3) requires that the documents sought “are likely to support the case of the applicant or adversely affect the case of one of the other parties to the proceedings; and disclosure is necessary in order to dispose fairly of the claim or to save costs.”

Coined as the “cards on the table” approach to litigation by the court, the new discovery measures introduced through Rule 7(A) could reduce time and costs of litigation by allowing the prospects of success of disputes to be assessed earlier.

This development represents a significant step in Cayman Islands civil procedure rules and brings the Cayman Islands procedural framework into closer alignment with the position in England and Wales and Hong Kong, where pre-action and non-party disclosure rules are well established.

If you are contemplating commencing proceedings in the Cayman Islands, or if you already have proceedings underway and are considering seeking discovery from a third party, please contact the authors of this article, or your usual Harneys contact.