Expert Testimony Issues in the UK

Abstract

Courts in the UK do not apply stringent criteria to the qualifications or methodology of expert witnesses, but the expert must have skill or knowledge that relates to a matter outside the experience of the court. Evidence from security specialists will satisfy this test in some cases. In civil courts, the judges also have a wide discretionary power to exclude or restrict expert evidence in order to do justice without disproportionate expense. The appointment of single joint experts, and the requirements for experts to discuss their reports with one another, have significantly modified the adversarial culture of the civil courts. Some recent criminal cases suggest that judges may be moving toward somewhat more rigorous scrutiny of expert evidence, but the adversarial procedures applied to expert evidence in the criminal courts remain substantially unchanged.