ABSTRACT

The expert witness is expected to assist the court in fulfilling its duty to case management and to do so by complying with the directions made by the court and to inform the court of any significant failure in such an objective. The obligations can be linked very clearly to the requirements outlined in Criminal Procedure Rules in relation to the construction of the expert witness report and following the principles outlined above in the ‘record’ approach to disclosure. If a breach occurs in relation to disclosure, then it can result in a prosecution being halted or delayed, a conviction being quashed on appeal, adverse comment about the expert witness and professional embarrassment, which could include action against the expert witness by their professional body. Accreditation is a process whereby the competency, credibility or authority of an organisation or an individual is certified by an external body or agency against an accepted standard.