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| Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association,
12-March-2004, Vol 117 No 1190
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MPDT Practice Note Number Three
THE TRIBUNAL wishes
to GIVE NOTICE to all parties who may appear before it that as at 5 February
2004 it has adopted the High Court Code of Conduct for Expert
Witnesses.
SCHEDULE
1
PROCEDURES to be
followed when giving expert evidence to the Tribunal:
Duty to the Tribunal1. An
expert witness has an overriding duty to assist the Tribunal impartially on
relevant matters within the expert’s area of expertise.
2. An expert witness is not an advocate for the party who
engages the witness.
Evidence of expert witness(a) acknowledge
that the expert witness has read this Code of Conduct and agrees to comply with
it.
(b) state
the expert witness’ qualifications as an expert.
(c) state
the issues the evidence of the expert witness addresses and that the evidence is
within the expert’s area of expertise.
(d) state
the facts and assumptions on which the opinions of the expert witness are
based.
(e) state
the reasons for the opinions given by the expert witness.
(f) specify
any literature or other material used or relied on in support of the opinions
expressed by the expert witness.
(g) describe
any examinations, tests, or other investigations on which the expert witness has
relied and identify, and give details of the qualifications of, any person who
carried them out.
4. If an
expert witness believes that his or her evidence or any part of it may be
incomplete or inaccurate without some qualification, that qualification must be
stated in his or her evidence.
5. If an
expert witness believes that his or her opinion is not a concluded opinion
because of insufficient research or data or for any other reason, this must be
stated in his or her evidence.
Duty to confer(a) confer
with another expert witness.
(b) try
to reach agreement with the other expert witness on matters within the field of
expertise of the expert witnesses.
(c) prepare
and sign a joint witness statement stating the matters on which the expert
witnesses agree and the matters on which they do not agree, including the
reasons for their disagreement.
7. In
conferring with another expert witness, the expert witness must exercise
independent and professional judgment and must not act on the instructions or
directions of any person to withhold or avoid agreement.
DATED at Wellington
this 5th day of February 2004
D B Collins, QC
Chair Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal |
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