Rule Text
The following Acts of Assembly shall not be deemed suspended or affected:
(a) 42 Pa.C.S. § 5325, relating to when and how a deposition may be taken outside the Commonwealth.
(b) Any Act of Assembly relating to shareholder actions for the inspection of corporate records pursuant to 15 Pa.C.S. § 1508, the examination of persons and production of documents and tangible things at a hearing or trial in proceedings upon insolvency pursuant to 39 P.S. § 252, election contests pursuant to 25 P.S. § 3465, or appeals from registration commissions pursuant to 25 Pa.C.S. § 1603.
Amendment history: The provisions of this Rule 4023 amended November 20, 1978, effective April 16, 1979, 8 Pa.B. 3551; amended December 27, 1995, effective January 1, 1996, 26 Pa.B. 227; amended January 8, 2025, effective immediately, 55 Pa.B. 661. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (301358) and (255425).
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
Pennsylvania's civil procedure rules cover many areas of law, but they don't cancel out certain state laws that were already on the books. This rule lists the specific laws that stay in effect and work alongside the court rules.
The laws that remain in force cover a few specific situations. One covers how depositions (recorded question-and-answer sessions) can be taken outside of Pennsylvania. Others cover things like a shareholder's right to inspect company records, financial examinations during bankruptcy-type proceedings, election disputes, and appeals from voter registration decisions.
If you are involved in one of these situations, the older state laws still apply to you, even though the general civil procedure rules are in place. Both sets of rules work together rather than one replacing the other.
Committee Notes
Historical Commentary
The following commentary is historical in nature and represents statements of the Committee at the time of rulemaking:
Explanatory Comment—1978
The statutes preserved or suspended by the above rules have been repealed by the Judiciary Act Repealer Act, effective June 27, 1978. The rules have been devised to reflect those repeals.
Explanatory Comment—1995
The note to paragraph (3) of Rule 4023 has been revised by deleting the reference to the repealed Act of May 5, 1933, P.L. 364, as amended, 15 P.S. § 1308 and substituting the reference to the successor provision, Section 1508 of the Associations Code, 15 Pa.C.S. § 1508.
