Expert Witness in UK Law

Leading Cases
  • R (Factortame Ltd and Others) v Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (No 8)
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 03 July 2002

  • Joyce v Yeomans
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 09 December 1980

    There are various aspects of such evidence in respect of which the Trial Judge can get the "feeling" of a case in a way in which an Appellate Court, reading the transcript, cannot. Sometimes expert witnesses display signs of partisanship in a witness box or lack of objectivity. This may or may not be obvious from the transcript, yet it may be quite plain to the Trial Judge.

  • R v Turner (Terence)
    • Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
    • 17 October 1974

  • Stanton and Another v Callaghan and Others
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 08 July 1998

    It seems to me that the following propositions are supported by authority binding in this Court: (i) an expert witness who gives evidence at a trial is immune from suit in respect of anything which he says in court, and that immunity will extend to the contents of the report which he adopts as, or incorporates in, his evidence; (ii) where an expert witness gives evidence at a trial the immunity which he would enjoy in respect of that evidence is not to be circumvented by a suit based on the report itself; and (iii) the immunity does not extend to protect an expert who has been retained to advise as to the merits of a party's claim in litigation from a suit by the party by whom he has been retained in respect of that advice, notwithstanding that it was in contemplation at the time when the advice was given that the expert would be a witness at the trial if that litigation were to proceed.

  • Whitehouse (A.P.) (Suing by his Mother and Next Friend Eileen Whitehouse) v Jordan and Others
    • House of Lords
    • 19 February 1981

    While some degree of consultation between experts and legal advisers is entirely proper, it is necessary that expert evidence presented to the court should be, and should be seen to be, the independent product of the expert, uninfluenced as to form or content by the exigencies of litigation. To the extent that it is not, the evidence is likely to be not only incorrect but self defeating.

  • Barratt v Ansell (t/a as Woolf Seddon); Arthur JS Hall & Company v Simons
    • House of Lords
    • 20 July 2000

  • Edwards-Tubb v JD Wetherspoon Plc
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 25 February 2011

    I certainly accept that there may be perfectly good reasons for a party to wish to instruct a second expert. That means that it will often, perhaps normally, be proper to allow a party the option, at his own expense, of seeking a second opinion. It would not usually be right simply to deny him permission to rely on expert B and thus force him to rely on expert A, in whom he has, for whatever reason, lost confidence.

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Legislation
  • The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013
    • UK Non-devolved
    • January 01, 2013
    ... ... any report, opinion or further evidence, whether provided by an expert witness or otherwise; or ... obtaining any transcripts or recordings, ... ...
  • Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act 1919
    • UK Non-devolved
    • January 01, 1919
    ... ... more than one expert witness on either side shall be heard ... unless the official arbitrator ... ...
  • The Family Procedure Rules 2010
    • UK Non-devolved
    • January 01, 2010
    ... ... order in which issues are to be resolved;(e) controlling the use of expert evidence;(f) encouraging the parties to use F124a non-court dispute ... of the Service or a Welsh family proceedings officer appointed to witness the documents which signify a parent's or guardian's consent to the ... ...
  • Civil Procedure Rules 1998
    • UK Non-devolved
    • January 01, 1998
    ... ... from an unrepresented party the matters about which the witness may be able to give evidence or on which the witness ought to be ... party lacks capacity to conduct the litigation are based on expert opinion, a copy of such opinion must be served, either with the ... ...
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Books & Journal Articles
  • Expert witness qualifications and selection
    • No. 12-2, April 2005
    • Journal of Financial Crime
    • 165-171
    Defines an expert witness as a specialist who uses special knowledge, skill, training or experience to provide testimony to aid the factfinder. Discusses the criteria and qualifications that should...
  • Legal control of expert witness bias
    • No. 21-1-2, January 2017
    • International Journal of Evidence & Proof, The
    • 0000
    Impartiality of expert witnesses means that such experts operate within scientific principles and legal procedures. By doing so, they assist the trier of fact. There are two aspects to the requirem...
  • The expert witness’s duty of impartiality in Canada
    • No. 20-1, January 2016
    • International Journal of Evidence & Proof, The
    • 0000
    In this case note, the authors review a recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in which the Court tightened the admissibility requirements of expert witnesses. The Supreme Court confirmed t...
  • Closing the Credibility Gap: The Prosecutorial Use of Expert Witness Testimony in Sexual Assault Cases
    • No. 9-4, December 2005
    • International Journal of Evidence & Proof, The
    • 0000
    Recent Home Office research indicates that complainants in sexual offence cases still struggle to gain credibility in the eyes of police, prosecutors and jurors. This article examines some of the c...
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Law Firm Commentaries
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Forms
  • Standard directions for applications under s.84 Law of Property Act
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Lands Chamber (Upper Tribunal) forms including appeals forms.
    ... ... factual evidence they may do so, provided it is contained in a witness statement filed with the Tribunal and sent to the other parties or their ... the objectors (collectively) may also rely on the evidence of one expert witness, provided a copy of the expert’s report has been filed with the ... ...
  • Response to a notice of reference
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Lands Chamber (Upper Tribunal) forms including appeals forms.
    ... ... authority to act signed by the Respondent.) ... Expert evidence and procedure ... 1. Do you intend to call an expert witness: ... ...
  • Response to a notice of reference BNO
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Lands Chamber (Upper Tribunal) forms including appeals forms.
    ... ... Hearing arrangements ... 1. I/we intend to call an expert witness: ... 2. I/we wish to call more than one expert witness: ... ...
  • Apply for 'bolt-on' payments and advocate's bundle payments
    • HM Courts & Tribunals Service court and tribunal forms
    Court Costs form EX80A to issue a legal aid assessment certificate.
    ... ... The evidence of an independent expert witness ... being cross-examined and substantially ... challenged by a ... ...
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