Report No. 185

Section 45A (as recommended in the 69th Report):

We are also in agreement with the 69th Report that Section 45A is to be inserted in regard to the duty of an expert witness to supply a copy of his report to all parties along with the grounds for opinion. No doubt, this is procedural and could be inserted in the Code of Civil and Criminal Procedure but instead, it could as well form part of the Evidence Act. The experts' Report should be 'verified'.

In this connection, we not only wish to insert Section 45A also as suggested but we also wish to expand Section 45A further, on the model of the UK 'Practice Directions, Supplementary Civil Practice Rule 35' set out in para 44.24 of Phipson, in the manner stated below. (see Phipson, paras 44.223 and 44.224) Under the English statute, 288 the expert is now treated as a person who has obligations to the court and is no longer the witness of the party who called him.

"45A. Supply of copy of Expert`s Report.- (1) Except by leave of the Court, a witness shall not testify as an expert unless a copy of his report has, pursuant to subsections (2) and (3), been given to all the parties.

(2) An expert's report shall be addressed to the Court and not to the party on whose behalf he is examined and he shall owe a duty to help the Court and this duty shall override any obligation to the party on whose behalf he is examined.

(3) An expert's report mus.-

(a) give details of the expert's qualifications;

(b) give details of any literature or other material which the expert has relied on, in making the report;

(c) state who carried out any test or experiment which the expert has used for the report and whether or not the test or experiment has been carried out under the expert's supervision and the reasons if any, given by the person who conducted the test;

(d) give the qualifications of the person who carried out any such test or experiment;

(e) where there is a range of opinion on the matters dealt with in the repor.-

(i) summarise the range of opinion, and

(ii) give reasons for his own opinion;

(f) contain a summary of conclusions reached;

(g) contain a statement that the expert understood his duty to the Court and has complied with that duty;

(h) contain a statement setting out the substance of all material instructions (whether written or oral) of the party on whose behalf he is examined.;

(i) be verified by a statement of truth as follows:

"I believe that the facts I have stated in the report are true and that the opinion I have expressed are correct "; and

(j) contain a statement that the expert is conscious that if the report contained any false statement without an honest belief about its truth, proceedings may be brought for prosecution or for contempt of Court, with the permission and under the directions of Court."

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