Experts roles in the family justice system

You may be aware there is a shortage of expert witnesses in family courts in the uk. To address this, an ‘experts sub-committee’ has been set up. The aim is to focus on encouraging medical and allied health experts to offer their services to the family justice system.

The first event, held this March, explored the role of the expert witness, the court process, report-writing and what to expect when giving evidence.

In general, an expert may provide advice to help the judge make their decision. The expert can be expected to provide family courts with ‘specialist professional and technical knowledge not otherwise available.’ This can be from medical or social work fields. All expert witnesses need to have appropriate professional qualifications and experience.

You can read more about the proposals and recommendations at this link to the Judiciary website.