31. Organising evidence and exhibits

Define the evidential question before collecting documents

Evidence preparation begins with the issues the court must decide at the next hearing. A fact may be upsetting or apparently significant, yet have little bearing on the question before the judge. The relevance of a document cannot sensibly be evaluated without identifying the application, current order, pleaded or disputed allegations, and hearing purpose.

The governing legal and procedural framework

FPR Part 22: the court controls the evidence

Under rule 22.1, the court may give directions about the issues requiring evidence, the kind of evidence required and how it is to be placed before the court. It may exclude evidence otherwise admissible or permit reliance on evidence where there has been non-compliance. This is a judicial case-management power, not a right for a party to file every document in their possession.

The general rules in Part 22 distinguish witness evidence at final and other hearings, subject to exceptions and court directions. PD22A addresses the form and content of written evidence and the manner of exhibiting documents. A statement must distinguish the witness's own knowledge from information and belief, and identify the sources relied upon.

PD27A: the hearing bundle is not the whole evidence archive

Practice Direction 27A, effective 2 March 2026, applies to Family Court and Family Division hearing bundles alongside case-specific directions. Paragraph 5.2 requires the bundle to include only documents relevant to the hearing which it is necessary for the court to read or which will actually be referred to. It identifies categories which should not be included as a matter of routine, including correspondence, emails, texts, WhatsApp and social media communications, recordings, financial records, contact notes, social services files and photographs.

This Matter concerns the evidential working file and exhibits. The separate mechanics of creating, paging, filing and serving a court bundle belong primarily to Matter 32 — Preparing Court-Compliant Bundles.

Documents held by others are not automatically available

Family Procedure Rules Part 21 concerns disclosure and inspection. Requests for school, social care, medical, police or third-party material may require a separate lawful route, such as court-directed disclosure. A subject access response, a disclosed record, permission to rely on it as evidence and permission to place it in a hearing bundle are four different things. Confidentiality, redaction, relevance and any restrictions imposed by the court remain important.

A defensible method for organising an evidence file

In practice, the most reliable approach uses an unaltered source archive, a working evidence register and a separate proposed hearing selection. This allows the litigant to identify documents without confusing their existence with their procedural status.

1. Read the operative directions. Identify the next hearing, relevant issues, filing or service deadlines, limits on statements, restrictions on evidence and who must prepare the bundle.
2. Preserve the original records. Keep originals or the best available source copies securely, including message context, dates, metadata where available and any export information. Work on copies.
3. Assign stable working references. Use neutral identifiers such as EV-001 and EV-002, rather than emotive or accusatory filenames. Do not confuse these provisional IDs with formal exhibit markings or bundle pagination.
4. Create an evidence register. Record the source, date range, factual issue, proposition, evidential limitations, confidentiality considerations and procedural status.
5. Test the proposition fairly. Record alternative explanations, missing context, uncertainty over authorship or completeness, and any material that contradicts the proposed account.
6. Select only what is needed for the authorised purpose. Match the chosen extracts to the court's directions and the witness statement or application through which they are to be relied upon.
7. Check filing, service and bundle treatment separately. Obtain directions where necessary, particularly for disputed late material, large digital files or evidence requiring safeguarding protections.

Illustrative working evidence register

This is an internal preparation model, not a court-prescribed form. Its identifiers and examples are fictional.

When does a document become an exhibit?

An exhibit is material identified in connection with evidence, ordinarily a witness statement or affidavit, following the applicable rules and directions. An item in a personal folder marked “Exhibit A” has not, by that act alone, been properly introduced into the court proceedings.

How PD22A treats exhibits

PD22A paragraphs 9–13 provide detailed requirements. The document should be identified by an exhibit mark matching the statement, remain distinguishable from the witness statement, and be arranged so that its relevant pages can be located. Where exhibits span multiple statements from the same witness, PD22A addresses the continuation of numbering. It also provides rules for multi-document exhibits, photocopies and legibility.

Witness statements should identify which facts are within the maker's personal knowledge and the source of information and belief. They should be in the maker's own words where practicable and verified with the required statement of truth. A statement should not become a collection of conclusions that the supporting documents do not establish.

Exhibiting is different from putting a document in the hearing bundle

A document may be referred to in witness evidence, but that does not mean every supporting page must be copied into a later hearing bundle. Under PD27A, the hearing bundle should be selected for the particular hearing. If the source is needed but cannot appropriately be included without further direction, the issue should be raised with the court in advance rather than resolved by unilateral bulk uploading.

Messages, recordings, screenshots and other digital evidence

Digital material can be important, including where the issue concerns a pattern of coercive control, disputed communication, attempted contact or the accuracy of professional accounts. Its usefulness depends on authorship, completeness, timing, authenticity and context. A screenshot is not self-authenticating merely because it shows a name and timestamp.

Recording, accessing and disclosing material may raise independent legal issues, especially where it involves children, protected information, another person's account or material subject to court confidentiality restrictions. Do not obtain evidence through unlawful account access, surveillance or contact that breaches an order.

Safeguarding, confidentiality and procedural fairness

Where allegations of domestic abuse or harm arise

PD12J is relevant in private-law children proceedings involving allegations of domestic abuse or harm. Evidence preparation must account for potential patterns of controlling behaviour, risks to the child and affected parent, and the distinction between disputed allegations and facts found by the court. A series of communications may require assessment as a pattern, but presenting an entire unfiltered message archive is not a substitute for identifying the material conduct and its welfare significance.

Confidentiality is not an optional afterthought

Family proceedings involving children are often heard in private and carry restrictions on communicating information. The permitted routes under FPR 12.73 and related provisions are context-specific. A party should check before sending children-related evidence or private court papers to outsiders, online services or publicly accessible storage. Protected addresses and contact details require special care. Ask the court for directions where necessary.

Procedural fairness also requires attention to the other party's ability to understand and respond to material relied upon, subject to any protective directions. Keeping relevant records organised makes proportionate requests for directions easier and reduces the risk of late surprises, missing context or inaccurate attribution.

What a litigant in person should do next

The JSH Law six-question evidence check

This is a practical preparation framework, not a statutory legal test.

1. Issue: Which disputed legal or welfare question does this material address?
2. Source: Where did it come from, and can the original and relevant context be verified?
3. Status: Does it record a claim, an observation, professional opinion, an admission or a finding?
4. Limits: What does it not prove, and what alternative explanation should be acknowledged?
5. Safeguards: Are there confidentiality, child-welfare, data-protection or safety restrictions?
6. Route: What existing direction, permitted statement, disclosure mechanism or court permission governs its use?

If you have a hearing approaching

Begin with the latest sealed order and a one-page list of the issues for the hearing. Create your evidence register before attempting to assemble a court bundle. Separate what you want to rely on from material already filed or served. Check dates, limits, protective directions, and the identity of the person responsible for the bundle. Seek directions promptly where material is disputed, late, confidential, unusually extensive or technically difficult to exhibit.

Primary authorities and official guidance

The governing court directions and procedural context must always be checked against the particular case. The following are the principal sources for this Matter:

1. Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 22 — control of evidence and witness evidence, particularly rules 22.1, 22.2 and 22.7.
2. Practice Direction 22A — Written Evidence — witness statements, exhibits, reference marks, provenance and legibility.
3. Practice Direction 27A — Family Proceedings: Court Bundles — version in force from 2 March 2026; particularly paragraphs 2.2, 4.5–4.9 and 5.2.
4. Judiciary: Preparing Court Bundles for Family Proceedings — Guide for Litigants in Person (2 March 2026).
5. Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 21 — disclosure and inspection, including applications concerning third-party documents.
6. Family Procedure Rules 2010, rule 12.73 — communication of information relating to certain private children proceedings.
7. Practice Direction 12J — domestic abuse and harm in child arrangements proceedings.
8. Re H-N and Others (Children) [2021] EWCA Civ 448 — patterns of alleged domestic abuse and the purpose of fact-finding.
9. Re K (Children) [2022] EWCA Civ 468 — necessity, proportionality and relevance of fact-finding to welfare issues.