Irish courts can order companies to undertake expensive data mining under electronic discovery rules, according to a ruling from the Irish Supreme Court. The ruling expands what is possible there under electronic discovery rules.
The ruling brings Ireland into line with the position across the UK, according to a legal expert.
In a telecoms industry dispute former state monopoly carrier Eircom was asked to produce a report based on information in its databases. The company refused, claiming that e-discovery did not cover the creation of new reports.
Though the Supreme Court said that it would be disproportionate to demand the report in this specific case, it did say that the Court had the right to ask for such reports.
The decision is an important one, according to an Irish legal scholar.
"This promises to be a very significant decision, and will certainly make electronic discovery more attractive for litigants while at the same time increasing the burden on those from whom discovery is sought," said TJ McIntyre, an academic and legal consultant, in his blog, IT Law In Ireland.
"While this is not the first case on this point … this is the first case to consider the issue in detail and the first time that the matter has been ruled on by the Supreme Court," he said.
Pre-paid phone card business Dome Telecom claimed that Eircom charged too high a rate for calls from mobile phones to its numbers. It wanted information from Eircom databases on the rates charged by Eircom to connect its competitors' calls.
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