一、书证开示制度的发展概述书证开示(discovery of document)指诉讼双方根据法律的规定或法庭的指令,在审讯前互相交换各自拟用的书证和物证的清单。书证开示制度起源于早期英国衡平法的理论和实践,随着现代诉讼程序的发展以及衡平法与普通法不断融合而形成。在1938年以前,英美法系国家的民事诉讼由诉答和开庭审理两个阶段组成,由于当时奉行古典意义的当事人主义,在开庭审理之前,双方 I. Overview of the Development of Documentary Disclosure System The discovery of document means the parties to the lawsuit exchange their list of documentary and physical evidence to be used each other before the trial according to law or court order. The system of documentary evidence disclosure originated from the theory and practice of the British Equity Law in the early days, and formed with the development of modern litigation procedure and the continuous integration of equity and common law. Before 1938, civil lawsuits in Anglo-American legal system consisted of two stages of litigation and trial. Because of the classicist doctrine at the time, both parties