ARTICLE
3 November 2016

Federal Court Practice Note for Expert Witnesses: joint expert conferences and concurrent evidence

K
KordaMentha

Contributor

KordaMentha, an independent firm in Asia-Pacific, specializes in cybersecurity, financial crime, forensic, performance improvement, real estate, and restructuring services. With a diverse team of almost 400 specialists, they provide customised solutions to help clients grow, protect from financial loss, and recover value. Trusted since 2002, they deliver bold, impactful solutions for clients.
The new Practice Note includes extensive provisions on joint expert conferences and reports; and on concurrent evidence.
Australia Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

On Tuesday, the Federal Court of Australia revoked and replaced all of its Practice Notes with immediate effect. Of particular interest to us is the new Expert Evidence Practice Note (GPN-EXPT) and its annexures: the Harmonised Expert Witness Code of Conduct (Annexure A) and Concurrent Expert Evidence Guidelines (Annexure B).

Much is unchanged: for example, most of the required contents of an Expert's Report. But the new Practice Note includes extensive provisions on joint expert conferences and reports; and on concurrent evidence. We welcome this new guidance.

The Federal Court is not the first national tribunal to deal with these issues in a guideline: the AAT issued one last year. But the Court's new guidelines are significant, and it will be interesting to see whether State jurisdictions will follow.

The Practice Note can be found here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy.

Learn More