New guidance for instruction of expert witnesses in civil claims 2014

The Civil Justice Council has published helpful “New Guidance” for the instruction of expert witnesses in civil claims –  Judiciary of England and Wales.

The Civil Justice Council has published new guidance for the instruction of expert witnesses in civil claims. Some minor additions have been made to this new CJC Guidance (with new paragraphs 31, 61 and 87 added). The new guidance arrives ahead of the removal of the Protocol on experts in Practice Direction 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The new guidance, aimed at those instructing expert witnesses and expert witnesses themselves, is not yet formally in force but will replace the Protocol in the autumn of 2014.

The New Guidance covers:

• Selecting and instructing experts:
• The need for experts;
• Duties and obligations of experts;
• The appointment of experts;
• Instructions;
• Acceptance of instructions;
• Experts’ withdrawal;
• Experts’ right to ask the court for directions;
• Experts’ access to information held by the parties;
• Single joint experts;
• Joint instructions;
• Conduct of the single joint expert;
• Cross-examination of the single joint expert;
• Experts’ reports;
• Conclusion of reports;
• Sequential exchange of experts’ reports;
• Amendment of reports;
• Written questions to experts;
• Discussions between experts;
• Attendance of experts at court;
• Experts and conditional and contingency fees;
• Sanctions.

Read the full Guidance for the instruction of experts in civil claims 2014

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