Rule 186 – Duties of a court expert

1. The court expert shall present an expert report in writing within the time period specified by the Court [Rule 185.4(f)].

2. The court expert shall be under the supervision of the Court and shall inform the Court of his progress in carrying out his task.

3. The court expert shall give expert advice only on questions which have been put to him.

4. The court expert shall not communicate with one party without the other party being present or without the consent of the other party. He shall document all communications with the parties in his report.

5. The court expert shall not communicate the contents of his report to third parties.

6. The court expert shall attend the oral hearing if requested to do so by the Court and shall answer questions from the Court and the parties.

7. The court expert has an overriding duty to assist the Court impartially on matters relevant to his area of expertise. He is to be independent and objective, and shall not act as an advocate for any party to the proceedings.