Research On The Issue Of Obtaining Electronic Evidence Outside The Territory In Civil Litigation

With the digitalization of information,electronic evidence has been playing an increasingly significant role in a lawsuit.Litigants involved in an international civil litigation,however,may also be faced with novel problems of obtaining and using evidence across the border.Methods of obtaining electronic evidence will affect its admissibility.Meanwhile,extraterritorial discovery of electronic data differs from traditional evidences in many ways——There are no particular uniform rules available for obtaining electronic evidence overseas,making alternative ways somewhat unregulated;No international consensus has been reached over the jurisdiction of electronic data;And cross-border transfer of data is restricted by many countries or regions.Since traditional ways of extraterritorial taking of evidence under Hague Evidence Taking Convention,European Regulation and other multilateral or bilateral methods may not work,litigants have to resort to applicable internal procedural rules.For example,countries like U.S.,China and U.K.have different internal laws governing issues re obtaining electronic evidence overseas.Potential risks like sovereignty issues and conflicts with foreign data security rules,however,may also be incurred through unilateral approaches.To alleviate the said conflicts,litigants could use exception provisions of data protection law to assist evidence taking or apply for protection order under U.S.discovery procedure while taking advantage of principles of comity.