What is an Expert Witness in England?

As a business going into a dispute, it is important you understand the different aspects of a court proceeding and the types of evidence that a judge will consider. One aspect of this is expert evidence given by an expert witness. Having an expert’s opinion in your favour can help your case significantly. 

This article will explain what an expert witness is and how they fit into a court proceeding. It will also touch on some of the key things that this type of witness will do.

What is an Expert Witness?

An expert witness is someone who has specialised knowledge on a particular area. They must possess more knowledge than the basic information that an average person would know. You can call on an expert witness to give their expertise and opinion on certain aspects of a problem – this is typically referred to as the ‘expert’s duty’. A court must give permission for an expert to give their opinion as part of a case.

Importantly, an expert witness’s overriding duty is to the court, rather than to the party instructing them. At the same time, the expert’s duty is to give an impartial opinion on their area of expertise. 

What Will An Expert Witness Do?

An expert witness’s primary job is to give oral evidence to a court on their area of expertise, in the form of their expert opinion. 

The expert witness will do this per their counsel’s instructions. An Expert Witness Report will make these instructions available to the other party in a dispute. Without a report, a court will typically not take the witness into account. It is therefore vital that a report is correctly filled out and filed.

Finally, the expert witness’s opinion must be impartial. If there is bias during legal proceedings, a court may discount a wide range of the oral evidence and conclusions given by the expert’s assessment. 

What Can’t an Expert Witness Do?

The expert witness can give a wide range of evidence and examples to support a technical point in relation to your case. They cannot, however, argue on your behalf before the trial judge.

In line with this, the expert’s qualifications will typically not include giving advice to you in relation to your case or negotiating in any capacity. Further, the expert will also not be able to provide an opinion during the course of legal proceedings on an area beyond their specific expertise. 

Finally, an expert witness cannot accept an appointment or take on a particular case if the terms of the expert witness’s work are conditional on the outcome of the case. For example, you cannot pay the expert only on the condition that you succeed in your case. Alongside this, the expert cannot accept any appointment involving a conflict of interest. 

Types of Expert Witnesses

There are three main types of expert witnesses in England. These are:

• party-appointed experts;
• single joint experts; and
• expert advisers (or shadow experts).

A party-appointed expert is a witness that one of the parties to the dispute will appoint. Their overriding duty will still be to the court, and their job will be to provide their expert opinion on the particular topic that the party instructing them has suggested. 

A single joint expert, on the other hand, is an expert that represents more than one party to the dispute. The parties will appoint them to prepare an Expert Report. This type of expert is particularly useful in less complex cases to reduce overall costs and expedite the testimonial process. 

An expert adviser, or shadow expert, will advise you during a case on technical matters but will not submit oral evidence to the court. This is because the Shadow Expert has a duty to you rather than the court, as you instruct them to give you advice. This expert will not normally give testimony in court, nor will they produce an expert report.

Key Takeaways

As a business going into a dispute, you should know your options. This especially includes anything that can help your case. One way of helping your case is to look for an expert witness who will report to the court on their area of expertise. If you are considering seeking an expert witness as part of your case, it is a good idea to ensure that you receive professional legal advice first. 

If you have questions about your dispute or using an expert witness, our experienced disputes lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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