Chris Pamplin explains how the courts might handle experts who appear to have failed in their duty
- Solicitors can face a formal procedure in which they have to show why they should not be referred to their regulatory body.
- A recent case has suggested that expert witnesses should be subjected to similar procedures.
The ability of the court to report a failing expert to a professional body with a view to considering disciplinary procedures is long established. But it is less common for the court to conduct its own investigation into an expert’s conduct. As officers of the Supreme Court, solicitors can face a formal procedure in which they have to show why they should not be referred to their regulatory body. It has been suggested in a recent case that expert witnesses should be subject to a similar procedure.
The circumstances in which solicitors can be made subject to such formal enquiries and the steps that can be taken by the court are set out in R (on the application of Hamid) v Secretary of State
