The Family Procedure Rule Committee has approved a proposal to roll-out the family court reporting pilot nationally, through changes to the Family Procedure Rules and new practice directions. The new reporting provisions will apply in all family courts in England and Wales from Monday 27 January 2025.

The Transparency Reporting Pilot for Financial Remedy Proceedings will be rolled out nationally from 29 january 2025, having been extended until 29 January 2026. 

The Appellant was given permission to change neurology experts after the judge found that the application was not so late as to be prejudicial to the Respondents, and that the Appellant was not engaging in expert shopping.

The new Practice Direction of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal came into force on 1 November 2024. The Practice Direction makes several changes to how appeals should be prepared.

In the last podcast for 2024, we look back at the ten key issues for expert witnesses that we've seen over the course of 2024, and highlight the ten things to look out for in 2025. From knowing and complying with your duties, to reevaluating and changing you opinion and handling fundamental dishonesty, this year in review has it all. 

The judge found that the evidence of the claimants' psychological expert fell well below the standard to be expected of a competent expert witness, both as to form and as to substance.

Rashpal Samrai & Ors v Rajinder Kalia [2024] EWHC 3143 (KB)

This case concerns a fundamentally dishonest claimant. The judge held that the experts in the case were reliant on self-reporting by the claimant, who the judge found to be wholly unreliable, as to the extent to which the alleged injuries suffered had impacted her life.

Scully -v- Atherton (& others) E13YX311

Board is now engaging on its proposed Key Objectives. The Key Objectives represent the high-level outcomes that, once finalised, will guide the Board’s work. They will be used to identify areas where changes can and should be made, as well as to measure the outcomes from any change programme.

In this Bermudan case, the appellant successfully appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to have his convictions quashed because of errors in the collection, examination and interpretation of the DNA expert evidence used in the trial.

Julian Washington (Appellant) v The King (Respondent) (Bermuda) [2024] UKPC 34

The father sought permission to rely on fresh evidence that he had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in an appeal against care and placement orders made in respect of his daughter. The judge reviewed the law on admitting fresh evidence on appeal before applying it to the case.

A Civil Justice Council working group has published a report setting out recommendations for the development of a procedure for determing mental capcity in civil proceedings. The working group notes this has been addressed to date by ad hoc solutions which have led to inefficiency, inconsistency of practice, and actions being taken without a clear legal basis.