Court appointed expert play a significant role concerning evidence concerns in all areas of law, remarkably civil and commercial legislation. Even in some criminal cases, if the Prosecutor General thinks it’s essential to hire an expert in connection with instances involving an alleged criminal breach of trust.
Meaning of Court Appointed Expert
It would be beneficial to establish two essential meanings early on. First and foremost, a Court Appointed Expert is someone with very high technical or scientific knowledge. A specialist must be called in to decide on a technical or scientific matter if the facts are insufficient for a court or tribunal to reach a decision.
Benefits of Appointing Experts in the UAE
The benefits of hiring court experts in the UAE include:
- A court expert in the past has addressed similar situations.
- Assistance in coming to a consensus.
- On both sides of the issue, assistance is required.
- Help in explaining challenging problems.
Also read: Benefits of Hiring a Court Expert in UAE
Appointment of a Court Expert Witness by the Court in Dubai
Articles 69 to 92 of the Federal Law No. 10 of 1992 (the Law of Evidence) deals with the appointment of experts in local courts. A court may also order an expert to investigate the matter under Article 68 of the Law of Evidence if a party submits an urgent application. In the local courts, a UAE expert witness is often appointed to provide a report by a judge (who may or may not be a professional or technical expert on the issues in dispute between the parties) (i.e. issue a mandate).
The recently passed Federal legislation No. 7 of 2012, known as the “Law of Experts,” places further restrictions on those who may serve as experts in municipal courts.
Unless the parties have agreed to appoint specific court experts within the term established by the court, the appointment of the expert is submitted to the court.
Additionally, the court may approve or reject a request from the parties for the appointment of an expert.
Federal Law No. 10, published on January 15, 1992, as modified (the “Evidence Law”), contains these regulations in Articles 69 and 70.
According to Article 69 of the Evidence Law, the court may assign one or more experts from among the state civil officials or from the experts listed in the schedule of experts to give their opinions on subjects vital for settling the case when necessary. The court should determine the amount to be deposited with the court treasury on account of the expert’s expenditures and salary, identify the party liable to effect such deposit, the period allowed for making the deposit, and the amount which the expert is permitted to draw for his expenses.
Additionally, according to Article 70 of the same statute, “If the parties agree to appoint one or more experts, the Court would approve their agreement, unless otherwise required by extraordinary circumstances, which must be specified by the court in this case, the Court will choose the expert from among those allowed before it”.
Dubai Court of Cassation Judgement on Court-Appointed Expert
The court must appoint an expert even though it has a broad range of discretion if it is the only practical way for the party in question to support his claim or defense.
The Dubai Supreme Court issued the following rule in Decision no. 86/2008 vol. 19, p.1041, which says:
“It is established by the judgments of this court that although the parties’ request for the appointment of an expert to show a particular fact is not a matter of right which must be granted by the court. If this is the only way to establish facts that can be established by non-documentary evidence the fact is crucial and useful in the resolution of the dispute. The court must grant the request or state in its ruling if there are good reasons why it shouldn’t.”
Evidentiary Value of Court Appointed Expert?
If the court agrees to start proceedings, the applicant may rely on the expert report later. The expert court report is taken as evidence even if the probative value is subject to the court’s estimation. The court can choose a different expert and is not required to accept the findings of the expert report.
Regardless of the conclusion of the expert’s report, the report itself might be a tool to assess the merit of the case and take appropriate action. It should be emphasized that the parties can still approach the court directly without selecting an expert or asking to do so during the proceedings.
Also read: How to Calculate End of Service Benefits for Employees in UAE
Conclusion
To sum up, it is allowed to submit cases to experts for technical issues where the court must rely on their knowledge, but the expert’s report shouldn’t be approved without adequate questioning by the court and parties.
Sometimes, a case involves complex technical issues beyond the scope of a judge or arbitrator. They are specialists in certain subjects, but not all. Examples include finance, forensic technology, and investigations.
Farahat & Co, a court expert is crucial when delivering testimony because of this. Court Experts at Farahat & Co. are skilled at laying out complex legal concepts for judges and arbitrators to grasp before making a judgment. To further enhance understanding of the issues in a court or tribunal case, testimony is supplemented by a report.
