19 July 2024 Sean Mosby 1016 News Third Amendment to the Criminal Practice Directions bySean Mosby The Lady Chief Justice has issued an amendment to the Criminal Practice Directions which comes into force on 22 July 2024. The matter was considered by the Criminal Procedure Rule Committee on 7 June 2024. The full amendment is available here and the text of the Criminal Practice Directions will be brought up to date with this amendment on 22 July 2024. Expert Witnesses working under the Criminal Procedure Rules should be particularly aware of two changes: (1) In paragraph 7.3.2(b) omit the words “and short reasons for”. (2) In paragraph 7.3.5 for the first sentence substitute “A statement must be prepared by the experts dealing with paragraphs 7.3.2(a) – (d) above and giving reasons for the agreement or disagreement. Reasons should be succinct, especially on points about which experts agree.” Experts should ensure that they comply with the new rules for any joint statements worked on, or submitted, from 22 July 2024. More links Link to the Amendment Share Print Tags Joint Expert Statements06. Rules and Regulations13. Experts Discussions and Joint StatementsCriminal Procedure Rules Related articles An expert report that is entirely equivocal on the key issues is of little assistance to the court Expert suggests Google would probably give the court a better answer than him Philipa Hodgson v Dr Daniel Hammond & Anor [2025] EWHC 1261 (KB) Access to public domain documents pilot Podcast Episode 12: Expert Discussions and Joint Statements Switch article Women appointed or testified as sole expert witnesses in just 9% of disputes worldwide in 2023, ERE survey reveals Previous Article PTSD and self-defence Next Article Comments are only visible to subscribers.