- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Civil Procedure Act 1997
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Civil Procedure Act 1997, Section 7 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 18 April 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 1(4) inserted by 2022 c. 35 Sch. 4 para. 2(2)
- s. 3(3) (4) substituted by 2005 c. 4 Sch. 4 para. 265(2) (This amendment is made to s. 3 as prospectively amended by 2003 c. 39, s. 85(2). Although it is in force at 3.4.2006 by S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(v), it cannot be applied until the substitution of s. 3 has been brought into force)
- s. 3(5) words substituted by 2005 c. 4 Sch. 4 para. 265(3) (This amendment is made to s. 3 as prospectively amended by 2003 c. 39, s. 85(2). Although it is in force at 3.4.2006 by S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(v), it cannot be applied until the substitution of s. 3 has been brought into force)
- s. 3(6) words repealed by 2005 c. 4 Sch. 4 para. 265(4) Sch. 18 Pt. 2 (This amendment is made to s. 3 as prospectively amended by 2003 c. 39, s. 85(2). Although it is in force at 3.4.2006 by S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 paras. 11(v), 30(b), it cannot be applied until the substitution of s. 3 has been brought into force)
- s. 3(7) repealed by 2005 c. 4 Sch. 4 para. 265(5) Sch. 18 Pt. 2 (This amendment is made to s. 3 as prospectively amended by 2003 c. 39, s. 85(2). Although it is in force at 3.4.2006 by S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 paras. 11(v), 30(b), it cannot be applied until the substitution of s. 3 has been brought into force)
- s. 5(7) inserted by 2022 c. 35 Sch. 4 para. 2(3)
7 Power of courts to make orders for preserving evidence, etc.E+W
(1)The court may make an order under this section for the purpose of securing, in the case of any existing or proposed proceedings in the court—
(a)the preservation of evidence which is or may be relevant, or
(b)the preservation of property which is or may be the subject-matter of the proceedings or as to which any question arises or may arise in the proceedings.
(2)A person who is, or appears to the court likely to be, a party to proceedings in the court may make an application for such an order.
(3)Such an order may direct any person to permit any person described in the order, or secure that any person so described is permitted—
(a)to enter premises in England and Wales, and
(b)while on the premises, to take in accordance with the terms of the order any of the following steps.
(4)Those steps are—
(a)to carry out a search for or inspection of anything described in the order, and
(b)to make or obtain a copy, photograph, sample or other record of anything so described.
(5)The order may also direct the person concerned—
(a)to provide any person described in the order, or secure that any person so described is provided, with any information or article described in the order, and
(b)to allow any person described in the order, or secure that any person so described is allowed, to retain for safe keeping anything described in the order.
(6)An order under this section is to have effect subject to such conditions as are specified in the order.
(7)This section does not affect any right of a person to refuse to do anything on the ground that to do so might tend to expose him or his spouse [F1or civil partner] to proceedings for an offence or for the recovery of a penalty.
(8)In this section—
“court” means the High Court, and
“premises” includes any vehicle;
and an order under this section may describe anything generally, whether by reference to a class or otherwise.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 7(7) inserted (5.12.2005) by Civil Partnership Act 2004 (c.12), ss. 261(1), 263(10)(b), Sch 27 para. 154; S.I. 2005/3175, art. 2(2)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.