Are you an Expert?

If you think you're an Expert, how do you measure up to the criteria listed in the 'Ikarian Reefer' case by Justice Cresswell from 1995? Twenty-five years later, Justice Cresswell's standards are still the reference:

1. Expert evidence presented to the court should be, and should be seen to be, the independent product of the expert uninfluenced as to form or content by the exigencies of litigation.

2. An expert witness should provide independent assistance to the court by way of objective unbiased opinion in relation to matters within his/her expertise. An expert witness in the High Court should never assume the role of an advocate.

3. An expert witness should state the facts or assumptions upon which his/her opinion is based. He/she should not omit to consider material facts which could detract from his/her concluded opinion.

4. An expert witness should make it clear when a particular question or issue falls outside his expertise.

5. If an expert’s opinion is not properly researched because insufficient data are available, then this must be stated with an indication that the opinion is no more than provisional.

6. If, after exchange of reports, an expert witness changes his view on a material matter having read the other side’s expert’s report or for any other reason, such a change of view should be communicated (through legal representatives) to the other side without delay and when appropriate to the court.

7. Where expert evidence refers to photographs, plans, calculations, analyses, measurements, survey reports or other similar documents, these must be provided to the opposite party at the same time as the exchange of reports.

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