Expert witnesses come from a variety of
professional disciplines and have a wide
range of specialised knowledge based on
their training, study or experience. The
expert's duties and obligations may vary
according to their role in the proceedings
and include:
-
Assisting a party to establish facts,
assess the merits and help in the preparation
of a case, including the initial decision
whether to litigate or not.
-
Providing expert opinion evidence to
the court, where such evidence other
than from an expert would not be strictly
admissible.
-
Giving factual evidence, where because
of expertise this evidence would have
greater weight than from an unqualified
person.
-
Conducting inquiries on behalf of the
court and reporting the findings back
to the court.
-
Sitting as assessors with judges to
assist the court to understand technical
evidence.
-
Participating in court-appointed expert
witness conferences.
The significance of expert testimony is
not confined to the civil jurisdiction of
the courts, as there are an increasing number
of criminal cases involving evidence from
forensic experts. The EWIA will be able
to play a role in the development of new
procedures designed to reduce the cost and
delay in both criminal and civil trials.
Experts also become involved in alternate
dispute resolution procedures, such as arbitration
and mediation, which are becoming regular
features of modern civil litigation.
Courts are increasingly imposing duties
and obligations on experts and these matters
will be addressed by education programs
conducted by the EWIA.
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