The claimant and defendant routes
A claimant seeking relevant evidence must present facts and evidence sufficient to support the plausibility of the compensation claim. A defendant can also request relevant evidence from the claimant under the specified conditions and national law. Identify the factual issue and the evidence needed to address it.
Necessary and proportionate disclosure
Article 9 requires limits to what is necessary and proportionate. Courts must consider legitimate interests, including confidential information and trade secrets. Disclosure requests should therefore be targeted to the product, versions, dates and issues rather than framed as a demand for every business document.
Preservation and disclosure are different
Preserving a relevant record internally does not mean it must automatically be disclosed in full. Conversely, confidentiality is not a universal reason to withhold relevant evidence. Legal advice should address protective measures, national procedure and the consequences of a failure to disclose under an applicable order.
Records that help the review
Use the following as a practical starting point. Select and preserve records appropriate to the product, incident and applicable procedure.
- Request or order and the issue addressed
- Relevant custodians and date ranges
- Confidentiality and trade-secret classification
- Record of production, format and explanation
Article 9 does not displace national pre-trial disclosure rules where they exist.
Primary sources and legal scope
This page explains the EU Directive framework. Check national implementing law, the corrected temporal scope and relevant procedure before applying it to a case.
- Directive (EU) 2024/2853, consolidated text: Articles 9, 10 ↗
- Official Journal corrigendum, 7 May 2026: Article 2(1) ↗
Source register: corrected scope verified 16 October 2026. Article references identify the legal basis. No qualified legal review or national implementation status is claimed.