Unfair competition
An employee leaving, suspected extraction of customer files, access to strategic data, transfer of documents or disputed use of a business application.
Pre-trial investigative measure on digital systems
Preserving digital evidence before the dispute is tried.
Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure (article 145 CPC) allows a party to ask the court, before any trial, for a pre-trial investigative measure to preserve or establish evidence of facts on which the outcome of a dispute may depend. In purpose it is broadly comparable to a pre-action disclosure or an evidence-preservation order, although it belongs to a different legal system. Where IT systems are involved, the difficulty is to act without altering the data, without going beyond the scope set by the court order, and to report in terms that everyone involved in the case can follow.
Use cases
Situations where digital evidence can disappear fast.
Data theft or leak
Confidential documents, commercial data, sensitive files, access traces, application logs or technical items that need to be preserved quickly.
Online evidence
A disputed publication, editable content, a profile, a website, a messaging service, a collaboration platform or an item of online reputation.
Systems and accounts
User accounts, workstations, servers, shared folders, backups, mailboxes or connection traces to be characterised without improvisation.
Business applications
Data held inside a software package, exports, histories, logs and the items needed to understand a dispute in technical terms.
Physical devices and media
Computers, phones, removable media, external drives or backups that may hold items relevant to the debate between the parties.
Working as a pair
Judicial officer and digital forensic expert: two complementary roles.
The legal framework
The judicial officer is responsible for the formal record of findings, for identifying the people present, for compliance with the legal framework and for setting the operations down in a document that can be relied on in court.
The technical reading
The digital forensic expert helps to understand the environment encountered, to spot the relevant data, to choose suitable methods and to document the technical limitations without stepping outside the scope set by the court order.
How it unfolds
Preparation that counts, before any operation on site.
Assess
Understand the facts, the systems concerned, the timescales and the nature of the evidence sought.
Prepare
Identify the access, devices and media, tools and field constraints before the operation.
Assist
Give technical support during the operation, within the scope set by the court order, documenting the actions taken.
Report
Produce material that is understandable, traceable and useful for the next stage of the case.
Frequently asked questions
Article 145, digital records of findings and digital evidence.
What is Article 145 used for in digital matters?
It can allow a party to ask the court for a measure before any trial, in order to preserve or establish evidence of digital facts: files, logs, content, accounts, access traces or application data.
Is an on-site visit always necessary?
No. Preparation can often be carried out remotely. An on-site visit is considered when access to the devices and media, or to the real environment, adds concrete value to the operation.