In UK law the Ikarian Reefer landmark case is commonly used to refer to the expected roles and responsibilities of an expert witness. It involved a shipping related court case in 1993.
As an expert email witness, I ensure that these guidelines are followed. If an expert witness does not adhere to these expectations, then their expert witness role may be called into question, leading to their evidence being excluded from the court case.
An expert witness is required to be impartial, objective, and independent. They are there to serve the court.
The key principles of Ikarian Reefer are:
- Independence: Experts must be truly independent and not influenced by the instructing party or the pressures of litigation.
- Impartiality: Expert opinions should be unbiased and based solely on their expertise, without being swayed by the party instructing them.
- Objectivity: Experts must provide objective, factual, and unbiased opinions, avoiding any bias or advocacy.
- Expertise: Experts should clearly state when a question falls outside their expertise and if they lack sufficient data to form an opinion.
- Duty to the Court: The primary duty of an expert witness is to assist the court, not the instructing party, by providing objective and unbiased evidence.
- Disclosure: If an expert changes their view after exchanging reports, they must promptly inform the other party and the court of the change.
- Full Disclosure of Facts: Experts must state the facts or assumptions on which their opinion is based and acknowledge any facts that could detract from their conclusion.
When reading all of the principles, it becomes clear how an expert witness can negatively effect the outcome of the court case if they do not follow them.
The expert witness is there to serve the court. Finding the balance of representing one side of the court case, whilst adhering to the principles above is critically important. The expert witness role is not to present arguments, only facts or views based on experience. The expert witness will be paid fees from one side of any court case, however, they must primarily represent the court.
The Ikarian Reefer principles do not apply in law outside the United Kingdom, but generally are accurate for an expert witness in any country. As an example, a Canadian article refers to a court case where it was quoted.
The article linked here contains a more detailed analysis of the role of an expert witness. Included are examples of court cases where the Judge has called out a flawed expert witness, who has operated outside at least one of the Ikaar Reefer principles.
If you need an expert witness for your email forensics court case, then please get in touch.