Questions and Answers

In this article, Dr Kay Linnell OBE talks about the role of the expert witness, and the problems that can be encountered when Instructing Parties go too far to prevent any accusation of bias or undue influence on appointed party’s expert, risking the expert’s ability to fully assist the Tribunal. Dr Linnel's article was originally published in the EWI's Expert Matters Memeber Magazine.      

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has published a Practice Direction on expert evidence. The Practice Direction sets out the principles applicable to expert evidence in the Tribunal, including general principles applicable to the evidence of any expert, as well as certain specific principles applicable to economic evidence. 

Retiring from your role as an expert witness is a significant decision that requires careful consideration and planning. The EWI has published new Guidance setting out the important steps and factors to consider as you prepare for retirement.

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee's Access to Public Domain Documents Pilot will run from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. You can familiarise yourself with the Pilot by reading our Guidance and watching our Webinar (free to EWI Members, otherwise available on the Webshop).

We are reposting our update on the Fixed Recoverable Costs Stocktake Consultation. It is important for the Civil Procedure Rule Committee's Stocktake to be fully informed by the knowledge and experiences of expert witnesses, so do please take the time to complete our survey with the consultation questions by 21 December 2025.

The EWI has just released its new Guidance on Being instructed as a Single Joint Expert with invaluable and easily accessible information and advice for members who act as a Single Joint Expert. 

The Lady Chief Justice has issued the fourth amendment to the Criminal Practice Directions 2023 which includes changes to chapter 7 (Expert Evidence), including amendments to expert declarations of compliance.

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee is undertaking a consultation regarding the effectiveness of the extension of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC), inviting feedback as part of an evidence-gathering initiative conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). You can input into the EWI response by completing a survey of the consultation questions. 

One of the key roles of the Expert Witness Institute (‘EWI’) is to ensure that policy, rule and regulatory changes are informed by the experience of our members, and the needs of the expert witness community and the wider justice system. In this update, we discuss policy developments and our advocacy work over the last few months.   

From 1 January 2026, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee will be piloting access to public domain documents in the Commercial Court and London Circuit Commercial Court of the King’s Bench Division and the Financial List (Commercial Court and Chancery Division).

The Annual Sir Michael Davies Lecture for 2025 was held on 15 October at the RAF Club in London. The Right Honourable Lady Simler, Justice of the Supreme Court, delivered an insightful lecture on Enhancing Expert Evidence: Reports, Opinions, and Judicial Perspectives, which was summed up perfectly by EWI Chair Sir Martin Spencer as the blueprint for providing the best written and oral expert evidence.

Her appointment was announced at the Sir Michael Davies Lecture on Wednesday 15th October.. 

The award was made at the Sir Michael Davies Lecture on the 15th of October.

Resolve Medicolegal and EWI held our annual Scottish Medicolegal Conference at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on 19 September. The event featured great speakers and panels and lots of interaction with the audience of expert witnesses and legal professionals. It was a brilliant Conference so, with a number of the EWI team attending, we thought we’d note some of our key highlights.

Top tips and new support available to ensure you remain complaint and provide a good quality CV.

Fans of true crime and anyone involved in giving expert evidence might be interested in a recent podcast episode from EWI Fellow, Dr Harry Brunjes.

The Expert Witness Institute has set up a new partnership with the Pro Bono Expert Support Scheme which is a collaborative initiative between the National Pro Bono Centreand Pro Bono Connect, designed to support pro bono legal cases by connecting lawyers with a wide range of volunteer expert professionals.

The RICS is seeking feedback from public stakeholders on the updating of its Professional Standard for Surveyors Acting as Expert Witnesses. The new 5th Edition is scheduled for publication in late 2025/early 2026 following the completion of the consulation . 

The Expert Witness Institute, the UK’s leading body for expert witnesses, is proud to announce a new partnership with Expert Insight, a community dedicated to supporting registered psychologists working as expert witnesses.

The judgement from The Honourable Mr Justice Trower asserts that Expert Witnesses have a duty to disclose previous criticisms of their evidence in judgments.