Judicial Guidance for Expert Witnesses

The Academy of Experts’ judicial committee has produced a set of guiding principles for experts giving evidence remotely.

The guidance highlights the difficulties faced by participants when so many are attending remotely, and it draws attention to the recognised problems of processing information and judging physical cues when not able to do so on a face-to face basis.

The guidance refers to advice from psychologists and advises that experts giving evidence accept that they will be “unlikely to have the same space in your ‘personal hard drive’ to work at the same intensity as previously.”

This advice chimes with the advice published by the ICCA earlier this year to assist advocates preparing for remote hearings. The ICCA has also published guidance for advocates dealing with expert evidence.