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, 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 14. Giving Oral Evidence, 16. Maintaining your professional edge, Gareth Jenkins 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.
25 June News Concerns raised about pilot scheme for expert evidence in the Family Courts 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing The pilot project seeks to use a range of highly expert consultants from a range of specialties undertake assessments of children, discuss findings with one another, and write a formal report for the Family Court.
25 June Case Updates MB v KB [2023] EWHC 3177 (Fam) 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 08. Being instructed as a Single Joint Expert, 14. Giving Oral Evidence, 15. Criticism and Complaints, Family Procedure Rules, FPR An expert report did not address all of the questions posed in the letter of instruction, reformulated other questions, and failed to comply with FPR Part 25 in a number of important ways, while the expert witness's oral evidence failed to provide an impartial expert view.
20 June News Expert Evidence and The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, Post Office Scandal, Jason Coyne, 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 14. Giving Oral Evidence, Kay Linnell, Gareth Jenkins The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is currently holding the public hearings for its phases 5 and 6, which will include scrutiny of the expert evidence relied on by the Post Office. We are proud that two members of EWI provided excellent, independent expert evidence or expert advice on the Horizon case. Their roles in the case demonstrate how important it is for Expert Witnesses to understand and apply the core competencies of the profession.
18 June Podcast Episode 1: Welcome to the Expert Matters Podcast Expert evidence, Expert Witness, 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 07. Working with Instructing Parties, 14. Giving Oral Evidence, Expert Matters, Podcast Welcome to Expert Matters, the official podcast of the Expert Witness Institute. Each month, we'll be taking an informed look at the key developments in the world of expert witnesses and expert evidence.
11 June Case Updates M v N (Approved) [2023] IEHC 759 Ireland, 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 09. Records Assessments and Site Visits, Voice of the Child This case update gives useful guidance on preparing a 'voice of the child' report.
6 June Case Updates The Cahill v Seepersad [2023] IEHC 583 Expert evidence, Independence, Duties of the Expert, Ireland, 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 15. Criticism and Complaints The cout found that a financial expert's report was inadmissible as evidence because he was not properly independent or objective, while very little weight could be attributed to the report of an employment expert because he lacked expertise in the area in which he purported to give expert evidence.
28 May Case Updates Expert evidence of fact Expert evidence, 05. Rules and Regulations, Expert evidence of fact, VAT This is another case that illustrates how (at least) two forms of expert evidence can be distinguished: expert factual and expert opinion evidence. Mercy Global Consult Ltd v Adegbuyi-Jackson [2023] EWHC 3203 (Ch)
14 May News Update on the 20-page limit for expert reports on the Intermediate Track CPR, Expert reports, Civil Procedure Rules, Civil Procedure Rule Committee, 20 Page Limit, 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing In this update on the 20-page limit for expert reports for cases on the Intermediate Track, we set out the position of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee on our concerns following further discussions, the Committee's intention to review the reforms after 12 months, and the EWI's advice to members.
13 May Case Updates Frasers Group plc v Saxo Bank AS & Anor [2024] EWHC 188 (Comm) Civil Procedure Rules, CPR rule 35.10, Litigation privilege, Joint Expert Statements, 05. Rules and Regulations, 06. Receiving Instructions, 08. Being instructed as a Single Joint Expert, 12. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements The judge considered, but did not reach a conclusion on, whether a party's communications with their expert before a joint meeting of experts should be disclosed.