Expert Evidence: Law and Practice 5e

A comprehensive guide to the law, practice, and procedure relating to the admission of expert evidence in courts, tribunals, official inquiries and other proceedings, including arbitration. It gives detailed guidance to those involved in the pre-trial preparation of expert evidence or the presentation or questioning of it in court.

• Covers expert evidence in both civil and criminal proceedings

• Sets out general principles and deals with the application of those principles in specific contexts

• Covers courts, tribunals, official enquiries, and arbitration

• Provides guidance for pre-trial preparation of expert evidence, including such issues as bias, privilege, and confidentiality

• Discusses when expert evidence can be used

• Details methods of questioning expert evidence in court

• Looks at the form and content of expert evidence, including that produced by machines, devices, and other apparatus

• Considers methods of proof, dealing with psychological and psychiatric evidence; land and building valuation; forensic sciences and techniques; actuarial, accountancy, and market research; evidence with a mathematical element; and proof of foreign law

• Deals individually with different fields of litigation: personal injury cases; construction claims; intellectual property; criminal sentencing; drink/driving offenses; obscenity; and matrimonial and other proceedings involving children

• Includes all important statutory provisions and rules, and extracts from relevant cases

• Makes comparative reference to various other common law jurisdictions, including Scotland, Canada, USA, Australia, NZ, and Ireland

• Covers new developments including guidance on the use and admissibility of expert evidence in civil cases, guidance on the instruction of experts to give evidence in civil claims, a practice direction giving assistance to judges in criminal cases on the admissibility and weight to be attached to expert evidence, and a new interpretation of the test for the admissibility of expert evidence under CPR r. 35.1