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Sedley's Laws of Documents

Lord Justice Sir Stephen Sedley outlines 11 "laws" that describe common problems with document bundles submitted to courts. The laws state that documents are often disorganized and not paginated logically, important documents are missing, duplicates and illegible copies are included, most documents are irrelevant to the case, and bindings are damaged and cause injury. The overall summary is that document bundles presented in courts are frequently disorganized, contain irrelevant information, and can even pose physical risks to readers due to poor assembly and binding.

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2K views1 page

Sedley's Laws of Documents

Lord Justice Sir Stephen Sedley outlines 11 "laws" that describe common problems with document bundles submitted to courts. The laws state that documents are often disorganized and not paginated logically, important documents are missing, duplicates and illegible copies are included, most documents are irrelevant to the case, and bindings are damaged and cause injury. The overall summary is that document bundles presented in courts are frequently disorganized, contain irrelevant information, and can even pose physical risks to readers due to poor assembly and binding.

Uploaded by

PoliceCorruption
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lord Justice Sir Stephen Sedley's Eleven Laws of Documents

1. First Law: Documents may be assembled in any order, provided it is


not chronological, numerical or alphabetical.
2. Second Law: Documents shall in no circumstances be paginated
continuously.
3. Third Law: No two copies of any bundle shall have the same
pagination.
4. Fourth Law: Every document shall carry at least 3 numbers in
different places.
5. Fifth Law: Any important documents shall be omitted.
6. Sixth Law: At least 10 per cent of the documents shall appear more
than once in the bundle.
7. Seventh Law: As many photocopies as practicable shall be illegible,
truncated or cropped.
8. Eighth Law: At least 80 per cent of the documents shall be
irrelevant. Counsel shall refer in Court to no more than 10 per cent of
the documents, but these may include as many irrelevant ones as
counsel or solicitor deems appropriate.
9. Ninth Law: Only one side of any double-sided document shall be
reproduced.
10.

Tenth Law: Transcriptions of manuscript documents shall bear

as little relation as reasonably practicable to the original.


11.

Eleventh Law: Documents shall be held together, in the

absolute discretion of the solicitor assembling them, by: a steel pin


sharp enough to injure the reader; a staple too short to penetrate the
full thickness of the bundle; tape binding so stitched that the bundle
cannot be fully opened; or a ring or arch-binder, so damaged that the
two arches do not meet.

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