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Section 33: Powers of High Court exercisable before commencement of action.

Senior Courts Act 1981 · 1981 c. 54View on legislation.gov.uk

Part II: JURISDICTION — : The High Court

On the application of any person in accordance with rules of court, the High Court shall, in such circumstances as may be specified in the rules, have power to make an order providing for any one or more of the following matters, that is to say—

the inspection, photographing, preservation, custody and detention of property which appears to the court to be property which may become the subject-matter of subsequent proceedings in the High Court, or as to which any question may arise in any such proceedings; and
the taking of samples of any such property as is mentioned in paragraph (a), and the carrying out of any experiment on or with any such property.

On the application, in accordance with rules of court, of a person who appears to the High Court to be likely to be a party to subsequent proceedings in that court . . . the High Court shall, in such circumstances as may be specified in the rules, have power to order a person who appears to the court to be likely to be a party to the proceedings and to be likely to have or to have had in his possession, custody or power any documents which are relevant to an issue arising or likely to arise out of that claim—

to disclose whether those documents are in his possession, custody or power; and
to produce such of those documents as are in his possession, custody or power to the applicant or, on such conditions as may be specified in the order—
to the applicant's legal advisers; or
to the applicant's legal advisers and any medical or other professional adviser of the applicant; or
if the applicant has no legal adviser, to any medical or other professional adviser of the applicant.

This section applies in relation to the family court as it applies in relation to the High Court.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.