5 October News The Role of Expert Witnesses in Building Safety Disputes - An Urgent Rethink? Impartiality, Duty of Expert, Grenfell Tower, Duties of an Expert, Defective Premises Act, Architect, Fire Safety Engineer, Code of Conduct, Building Safety Act 2022, Fire Safety Remediation In this article, Rose Wilson and Mariya Rankin from Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP, and Bhavina Vasishta from Rimkus consider whether the role of expert witnesses in building safety disputes requires an urgent rethink following Grenfell and the sweeping reforms of the Building Safety Act 2022.
18 October News Independence, bias and conflicts of interest Conflicts of interest, Bias, Independence, Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Unconscious Bias Hon Mr Justice Trower provides invaluable guidance for Expert Witnesses at the 2024 the Sir Michael Davies lecture.
9 August Case Updates Deborah Biggadike v Kamilia El Farra & Anor [2024] EWHC 1688 (KB) Independence, Duty of Expert, 06. Rules and Regulations The judge found that it was entirely artificial to think that sharing a platform speaking at a seminar during (in the case of one expert) or before (in the case of the other) giving evidence would have any effect or impact on the evidence of two expert witnesses in urogynaecology.
1 July News The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and the importance of Expert Witness training Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, Post Office Scandal, 17. Maintaining your professional edge, Gareth Jenkins, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing, 15. Giving Oral Evidence Gareth Jenkins gave evidence to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry from 25 to 28 June on the expert evidence he provided on the Horizon IT system. Mr Jenkins told the Inquiry that he had been unaware of his duties as an Expert Witness and had not been offered any training to support his role. The EWI offers comprehensive training on the core competencies of an Expert Witness. We urge policy and rule makers, and the judiciary, to consider how to ensure that Expert Witnesses fully understand their duties and know how to apply them.
1 February Case Updates An expert who oversteps their role puts their evidence at risk Clinical psychology, Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Judicial critism, European Convention on Human Rights, Humans Rights Act 1998, Gender Recognition Act 2004, 16. Criticism and Complaints, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, 06. Rules and Regulations An expert who does not understand their duty to be independent, and oversteps their role, risks the court either refusing to admit their evidence or placing less weight upon it. Ryan Castellucci, R (on the application of) v Gender Recognition Panel [2024] EWHC 54 (Admin)
8 February News Expert slated for numerous failings - both in their report and in courtroom behaviour Report Writing, Language, Duty of Expert, Range of Opinion, Expert Report, Courtroom evidence In cross-examination and at the close of the case, a searing attack on the expert's approach to expert evidence and independence was launched. The judge viewed many of the criticisms as well-founded.
13 December News The importance of independence: preserving the integrity of the Expert Witness discussion Experts duty, Independence, Duty of Expert, Expert's meeting, Expert's duty, Experts meeting, Duty to the court, Instruction from solicitor, 08. Working with Instructing Parties, 13. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements We take a look at how the distinction between being an independent Expert Witness is crucial in a court case.
14 November News Admissibility or weight: what is the test for expert evidence? Admissibility, Impartiality, Expert's behaviour, Bias, Independence, Duties of the Expert, Duty of Expert, Duty to the court, Legal role of an expert witness, Expert bias, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, 06. Rules and Regulations, 15. Giving Oral Evidence In an exceptional case, as here, where the expert singularly and spectacularly fails in their duties to the court, expert evidence may be deemed inadmissible and never get to the stage of being tested for weight.
25 October Case Updates Hertfordshire County Council v Mothers [2022] EWFC 106 Duty of Expert, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, 11. Report Writing “Getting named as the expert in a family case” The case: a fact-finding hearing in respect of children
22 November Case Updates Good Law Project Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2021] EWHC 2595 (TCC) Duty of Expert, Compliance with procedural rules, Undisclosed instructions, Instruction in the form of discussion, Reliance on undisclosed data, 10. Records Assessments and Site Visits, 06. Rules and Regulations, 11. Report Writing Relevance: General