One of the key roles of the Expert Witness Institute (‘EWI’) 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 policy developments and our advocacy work over the last few months.
Civil Procedure Rule Committee
Access to public domain documents pilot
The 2-year pilot on “access to public domain documents” pilot in the Commercial Court, London Circuit Court and the Financial List is now expected to commence on 1 January 2026. We expect the Pilot Practice Direction and Guidance to be published shortly.
Breakdown of agency and expert fees
In the last update, we reported that the Ministry of Justice was leading discussions with industry on issues related to the breakdown of expert and agency fees. The Committee clarified in its July minutes that APIL and ACSO (not the MoJ) are discussing this issue directly with all interested parties to try and get an agreed cross industry agreement which is satisfactory to all, and which can bring an end to the current litigation.
We wrote to APIL who indicated that they are not leading these discussions.
FRC Stocktake
The Committee indicated in its July minutes that the Ministry of Justice expects to publish the FRC Stocktake in October. The Committee has indicated that the Stocktake will include a question on the 20-page limit for expert reports in the intermediate track and three questions on agency fees.
Online Procedure Rule Committee
We will be attending the OPRC Open Meeting on 20 October 2025.
Civil Justice Council
Lady Justice Cockerill
Lady Justice Cockerill will take up her new role as the Deputy Head of Civil Justice on 1 November 2025 replacing Lord Justice Birrs.
Review of the Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims
In his remarks at the EWI Annual Conference, Lord Justice Birrs noted that the Civil Justice Council was undertaking a review of the Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims. We have consulted with members on the areas of the guidance which should be considered in this review and are working with stakeholders.
Family Justice Council
We attended the Family Justice Council open meeting on 7 July.
Transparency and Open Justice Board Stakeholder Committee
We attended the Board’s next Stakeholder Committee meeting on 22 July.
Access to Justice Inquiry
We submitted a response to the Access to Justice Inquiry - Call for Evidence by the House of Commons, Justice Committee.
Consultation on Professional Standard for Surveyors acting as Expert Witnesses
We submitted a response to the RICS’s consultation on a revised 5th Edition of its Professional Standard for Surveyors Acting as Expert Witnesses. To inform our response, we consulted with members and met with the RICS to set out our key concerns. We raised a range of key concerns in our response including highlighting parts of the revised Standard which would not be compliant with procedural rules.
Chief Coroner Guidance
We contacted the Chief Coroner to raise a concern about a point in the Chief Coroner’s Guidance for Coroners which describes all online registers of expert witnesses as open to anyone without any vetting of experts listed. We noted that directories, such as the EWI’s, only list experts who have signed the EWI code of practice, and completed training or demonstrated capability in the core competencies of an expert witness. The Chief Coroner has amended this point to make it clear that some sites do vet experts before registering them.
Northern Ireland, Department of Justice
We responded to a request for advice on legal aid in England and Wales from the Enabling Access to Justice Division of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. The Department are currently engaged in a programme of reform of criminal legal aid following a review by retired High Court Judge, Tom Burgess.
Scottish Justice Council
The Scottish Justice Council (‘SJC’) has indicated that the next consultation on the Ordinary Procedure Rules has been delayed.
Forensic Science Regulator
The Forensic Science Regulator (‘FSR’) is developing version 3 of the declaration guidance to support version 2 of its Code of Practice which came into force on 2 October. We engaged late last year with the FSR on its guidance for experts which it is intending to revise.
Housing Condition Strategy Group
The EWI has continued its role as vice chair of the Housing Condition Strategy Group which aims to improve the quality of expert evidence on housing condition and disrepair.
Getting in touch
We would welcome hearing the views of members on any of the issues discussed in this update at policy@ewi.org.uk.