Overriding Duty to the Court
Definition
The principle in English and Welsh law, codified in the Criminal Procedure Rules and the Civil Procedure Rules, that an expert witness owes a higher duty to the court than to the instructing party. The expert must assist the court impartially and must not act as an advocate.
Related terms
- Basis of Opinion
- The underlying data, facts, or methodology on which an expert opinion rests. Courts require disclosure of the basis so the opposing party...
- Concurrent Evidence
- Also called 'hot-tubbing': a procedure, common in Australian courts and used experimentally in England, where opposing experts give evidence simultaneously, respond to...
- Cross-Examination
- Questioning of a witness by the opposing party. For an expert, cross-examination probes qualifications, methodology, the basis of opinions, limitations, inconsistencies with...
- Examination-in-Chief
- The questioning of a witness by the party who called them. For an expert, this is typically limited because the substance is...
- Expert Witness
- A person whose specialised knowledge is accepted by a court and who gives opinion evidence, not just factual evidence. Forensic auditors frequently...
- Gatekeeping (Daubert)
- The duty of a US federal trial judge under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and the Daubert line of cases to assess...
- Opinion Evidence
- Testimony about an inference or conclusion drawn from facts, rather than direct observation. Expert opinion is a recognised exception to the general...
- Section 45, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023
- The Indian statutory provision permitting courts to consider the opinion of persons specially skilled in foreign law, science, art, handwriting, or finger...
- Ultimate Issue
- The central question the court must decide: guilty or not guilty, liable or not liable. Traditionally experts were prohibited from expressing opinions...
- Ultimate-Issue Rule
- The traditional prohibition on an expert stating an opinion on the very factual question the court must decide, on the ground that...
Explained in these topics
- Opinion Evidence and Its LimitsThe principle in English and Welsh law, codified in the Criminal Procedure Rules and the Civil Procedure Rules, that an expert witness owes a higher duty to th...
- The Expert Witness: Role, Duties and TestimonyThe principle, codified in procedural rules in many adversarial jurisdictions, that the expert's primary obligation is to assist the court with independent, ob...