ABSTRACT
It is the duty of an expert to help the Court on the matters within the expert's expertise: rule 35.3(1). This duty is paramount and overrides any obligation to the person from whom the expert has received instructions or by whom she or he is paid: rule 35.3(2). Expert evidence presented to the Court should be, and should be seen to be, the independent product of the expert uninfluenced by the pressures of litigation. If an expert's opinion is not properly researched because she or he considers that insufficient data is available, this must be stated in her or his report with an indication that the opinion is no more than a provisional one. In a case where an expert witness who has prepared a report is unable to confirm that the report contains the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth without some qualification, that qualification must be stated in the report.
