9 October News Professor Keith Rix and Alison Somek awarded Honorary Fellowship of the EWI Honorary Fellowship The pair were presented with their award at the Sir Michael Davies Lecture on the 9th October.
9 October Case Updates Chifley Holdings Ltd (BVI) v The Commissioners For HMRC [2024] UKUT 301 (LC) 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 13. Changing your opinion, 12. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements, 14. Giving Oral Evidence, 15. Criticism and Complaints, 09. Records Assessments and Site Visits, Surveyors, Valuation The judge found that it was without justification and entirely unecessary for an expert to question the opposing expert's professionalism and motives in selecting evidence, noting that this approach was unhelpful for the tribunal.
3 October Case Updates Fact finding by experts Facts, Ireland, 12. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements The court could see no basis on which the plaintiffs could seek to rely on any agreement reached between the experts as to the underlying facts. Nolan v Dildar Ltd (Approved) [2024] IEHC 4
27 September Case Updates Pedestrian-vehicle impact speed and injury severity Head injury criteria scores, Impact speed, Pedestrian-vehicle collision For accident reconstruction, emergency medicine and neurosurgery experts, this case illustrates the interdependence of accident reconstruction and medical evidence and the need for the medical experts to have regard to the accident reconstruction evidence. Colizzi v Coulson [2024] EWHC 1956 (KB)
25 September Case Updates Good practice points in asylum and immigration psychiatric reports Credibility, Expert Report, Judicial critism, Expert anonymity, Exaggeration, Feigning, Istanbul Protocol, Remote Assessment The report of an expert in psychiatry was undermined by his acceptance of the appellent's account which, unbeknown to him, a previous tribunal had found to lack credibility. The court also attached less weight to the expert's assessment than it did to a hospital letter because the assessment had been conducted remotely. Chahal v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKAITUR UI2024001451
25 September Day in the life A Day in the Life of a Water Quality Expert 10. Report Writing, Expert Witness Training, Drinking Water, Pollution Tim White is a chartered chemist who uses his expertise to assess chemical risk from exposure to water. He has been an Expert Witness for over 40 years, advising on cases relating to water quality, land contamination and corrosion.
23 September News Quarterly Update on EWI's Advocacy Work forensic science regulator, Civil Procedure Rule Committee, 05. Rules and Regulations, Transparency and Open Justice Board, Legal Aid, Expert Fees, Advocacy, Health Care Professions Council, Housing Condition Strategy Group, Scottish Justice Council One of the key roles of the Expert Witness Institute 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 our work in this area over the last 3 months.
20 September News October 1st Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules arbitration, Civil Procedure Rules, 05. Rules and Regulations On 1 October 2024, the latest amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules will come into force.
19 September News Family Procedure Rule Committee Consultation on New Draft Practice Direction 27A Expert reports, Family Procedure Rule Committee, 05. Rules and Regulations, Family Procedure Rules, Bundles The Family Procedure Rule Committee is consulting on a new draft Practice Direction 27A on court bundles.
18 September News The Single Biggest Change White Paper 05. Rules and Regulations, 10. Report Writing, 02. Setting Fees and Getting Paid, 06. Receiving Instructions, 07. Working with Instructing Parties, 08. Being instructed as a Single Joint Expert, 11. Responding to questions, 12. Experts Discussions and Joint Statements, 14. Giving Oral Evidence, 15. Criticism and Complaints, 09. Records Assessments and Site Visits Earlier this year, we asked our members about the single biggest change they’ve seen since they started practicing as an Expert Witness. With members from numerous disciplines who’ve been practicing from 40 years to 4 months, we expected a wide variety of insights, and we weren’t disappointed.