The Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 2019

Expert evidence E+W

30.—(1) No party may call an expert or adduce in evidence an expert’s report at the substantive hearing of an application without leave of the Tribunal.

(2) An application under this rule must be determined by a panel.

(3) The Tribunal may permit expert evidence to be adduced where it considers that such evidence is necessary for the proper consideration of an issue or issues in the case.

(4) If two or more parties wish to submit expert evidence on a particular issue, the Tribunal may direct that the evidence on that issue is to be given by a single joint expert.

(5) The Tribunal may, at any stage, direct that a discussion take place between experts for the purpose of requiring the experts to identify and agree the expert issues in the proceedings and provide a joint schedule setting out the matters that are agreed and not agreed. The Tribunal may specify the issues which the experts must discuss.

(6) Any expert evidence must be in the form of a Statement and must set out—

(a) the expert’s professional qualifications;

(b) the substance of all material instructions (including a general description of the documents provided), whether written or oral, on the basis of which the Statement was written;

(c) a declaration that the expert understands and has complied with the expert’s duty to assist the Tribunal on matters within the expert’s expertise and understands that this duty overrides any obligation to any party from whom the expert has received instructions or by whom they are paid.

Commencement Information

I1 Rule 30 in force at 25.11.2019, see rule 1