The Court of Appeal will implement a practice note, Electronic Document Practice Note 2017, from 1 October 2017.

The objective of the practice note is as a guideline to be used by counsel and the Court, to encourage and facilitate the use of electronic documents for civil cases in the Court of Appeal.

The practice note will apply to civil appeals filed after the commencement date, and does not apply to applications for leave to appeal or other interlocutory applications (unless the Court directs otherwise in a particular case).

The President of the Court, Justice Stephen Kós, says the Senior Court Civil Electronic Document Protocol has been in place since May 2016. He says clause 1.2 anticipates the making of practice notes by the Senior Courts.

"The Court of Appeal draft practice note was consulted on in May and June 2016, but by oversight not formally implemented. In the interim the practice note has been applied informally," he says.