Some views from the crucible: The perspective of an expert witness on the adversarial principle

Abstract

This article, written from the perspective of an accountant with broad experience as an expert witness, discusses the relative merits of the perceived adversarial nature of expert evidence. The article first identifies some advantages and disadvantages of the process whereby two expert witnesses can be perceived to take up positions seen by the tribunal as polar opposites. This article then provides commentary on some of the common ways in which expert evidence is presently communicated to a tribunal. The concluding commentary is that more thought could be given before an expert takes a position that serves the tribunal, but only somewhat as an afterthought-but whose principal target audience can be the opposing expert witness.