The Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2019

Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Rules

6.  In Part 19 (Expert evidence)—

(a) in rule 19.2 (Expert’s duty to the court)—

(i) at the end of paragraph (3)(b) omit “and”,

(ii) at the end of paragraph (3)(c) insert “and”,

(iii) after paragraph (3)(c) insert—

“(d) to disclose to the party for whom the expert’s evidence is commissioned anything—

(i) of which the expert is aware, and

(ii) of which that party, if aware of it, would be required to give notice under rule 19.3(3)(c).”, and

(iv) after paragraph (3)(d) insert—

“[Note. The Practice Direction lists examples of matters that should be disclosed under this rule and rule 19.3(3)(c).]”; and

(b) in rule 19.3 (Introduction of expert evidence), for paragraph (3)(c) substitute—

“(c) serve with the report notice of anything of which the party serving it is aware which might reasonably be thought capable of—

(i) undermining the reliability of the expert’s opinion, or

(ii) detracting from the credibility or impartiality of the expert;”;

(c) renumber rule 19.9 (Court’s power to vary requirements under this Part) as rule 19.10;

(d) after rule 19.8 (Instructions to a single joint expert) insert—

“Application to withhold information from another party

19.9.— (1) This rule applies where―

(a) a party introduces expert evidence under rule 19.3(3);

(b) the evidence omits information which it otherwise might include because the party introducing it thinks that that information ought not be revealed to another party; and

(c) the party introducing the evidence wants the court to decide whether it would be in the public interest to withhold that information.

(2) The party who wants to introduce the evidence must—

(a) apply for such a decision; and

(b) serve the application on—

(i) the court officer, and

(ii) the other party, but only to the extent that serving it would not reveal what the applicant thinks ought to be withheld.

(3) The application must—

(a) identify the information;

(b) explain why the applicant thinks that it would be in the public interest to withhold it; and

(c) omit from the part of the application that is served on the other party anything that would reveal what the applicant thinks ought to be withheld.

(4) Where the applicant serves only part of the application on the other party, the applicant must—

(a) mark the other part, to show that it is only for the court; and

(b) in that other part, explain why the applicant has withheld it from the other party.

(5) The court may—

(a) direct the applicant to serve on the other party any part of the application which has been withheld;

(b) determine the application at a hearing or without a hearing.

(6) Any hearing of an application to which this rule applies—

(a) must be in private, unless the court otherwise directs; and

(b) if the court so directs, may be, wholly or in part, in the absence of the party from whom information has been withheld.

(7) At any hearing of an application to which this rule applies—

(a) the general rule is that the court must consider, in the following sequence—

(i) representations first by the applicant and then by the other party, in both parties’ presence, and then

(ii) further representations by the applicant, in the absence of the party from whom information has been withheld; but

(b) the court may direct other arrangements for the hearing.”; and

(e) amend the table of contents correspondingly.