The Admissibility and Management of Expert Evidence in Arbitrations and in Court: Who Really Decides the Technical Issues?

Paper presented to the Society by Bruce Collins QC FCIArb BA LLB (Hons) Sydney) LLM (Melbourne) on 19 February 2014: Lord Woolf’s report into reforms of the system of justice, made it clear that one of the major impediments to the cheap, expeditious and just resolution of disputes, was the tendency of the expert evidence process to prolong hearings and add unnecessarily to the costs. The proper management of expert evidence is one of the major factors standing between the realisation of the claim made by commercial arbitration to superior outcomes in comparison with litigation in the national courts. The paper analyses the relevant principles and practices and shows how the process of placing relevant and material expert evidence before the tribunal, may be properly managed.