National Justice Compania Naviera SA v Prudential Assurance Company Ltd (Ikarian Reefer)
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 25 February 1993 |
| Date | 25 February 1993 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division |
Before Mr Justice Cresswell
Queen's Bench Division
Evidence - duties of expert witnesses
Expert witnesses in civil cases had several duties and responsibilities including the duty to give independent and unbiased evidence. If an expert witness did not have expertise in a certain area or had insufficient information to reach a properly researched conclusion then he should say so.
Mr Justice Cresswell so stated in a reserved judgment in the Commercial Court of the Queen's Bench Division when giving judgment for the plaintiff shipowner upon its claim for insurance moneys for the loss of its ship, the Ikarian Reefer.
Mr Anthony Clarke, QC, and Mr Nigel Jacobs for the owners; Mr Stephen Tomlinson,QC, and Mr Stephen Kenny for the underwriters.
MR JUSTICE CRESSWELL said that a fire had broken out in the engine room of the vessel. The owners claimed that it became an actual or constructive loss because of a peril which had been insured against.
The underwriters' claim was that the Ikarian Reefer was deliberately set on fire with the owners' connivance. The question for decision was whether that was proved to the required standard and expert evidence was given.
His Lordship said that he considered that a misunderstanding on the part of some of the expert witnesses had taken place concerning their duties and responsibilities which had contributed to the length of the trial. The duties and responsibilities of expert witnesses in civil cases included the following:
1 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: see Whitehouse v JordanWLR ([1981] 1 WLR 246, 256) per Lord Wilberforce.
2 Independent assistance should be provided to the court by way of objective unbiased opinion regarding matters within the expertise of the expert witness; see Polivitte Ltd v Commercial Union Assurance Co plcUNK([1987] 1 Lloyd's Rep 379, 386) per Mr Justice Garland, and Re JUNK ([1990] FCR 193) per Mr Justice Cazalet. An expert witness in the High Court should never assume the role of advocate.
3 Facts or assumptions upon which the opinion was based should be stated together with material facts which could detract from the concluded opinion.
4 An expert witness should make it clear when a question or issue...
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Indexes
...IrishBank, Re [1999]3 IR 145. . . . . . 108National Justice Compania Naviera SA vPrudential Assurance Co. Ltd (The ‘IkarianReefer’) [1993]2 Lloyd’s Rep68 . . . . . . . . . 322Nelson vHM Advocate 1988SCCR 536 . . . . . . . 15Nicholas vThe Queen (1998)CLR 173 . . . . . . . 247Nolan vMcLeod 19......
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Litigation
...v Xstrata Ltd [2017] EWHC 1582 (QB). 526 National Justice Compania Naviera SA v Prudential Assurance Co Ltd (the “Ikarian Reefer”) [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 68 at 81–82, per Cresswell J; UBC (Construction) Ltd v Sung Foo Kee Ltd [1993] HKCFI 261 at [105]–[109], per Kaplan J; R v Balfour Beatty C......
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Subject Index
...Ltd and the Companies Act1990, Re[1999] 3 IR145 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230National Justice Compania v PrudentialAssurance [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 68, Comm. Ct(‘The IkarianReefer’) . . . . . . . . . . . . .96–97, 99Nguyen vR [2007] NSWCCA249 . . . . . . . . . . . . .80Nominal Defendant......
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Subject Index
...(1996) 22EHRR 29 ..................................... 34, 35National Justice Compania vPrudential Assurance (The IkarianReefer) [1993] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 68 .. 267National Westminster Bank plc vMorgan [1985] AC 686 ................. 226Ng Chun-Pui v Lee Chuen Tat [1988]RTR 298 .......................