This paper moves beyond the Law Commission Report “Expert Evidence in Criminal Proceedings in England and Wales” (2001) and examines the Criminal Practice Direction (in England and Wales) which partly implements the Report. It argues that as the admissibility of expert evidence continues to be governed by the common law, the effectiveness of the Practice Direction will depend on the rigour with which the courts apply the common-law tests of relevance and helpfulness. These common law principles could also be applied more rigorously north of the border, even without a Practice Direction.
Dr Tony Ward in Reader in Law at the University of Hull, where he is also a Programme Director of the Institute of Applied Ethics and Co-Director of the Experts and Institutions Research Centre. His main research interests are in expert evidence and state crime (crimes by governments and their officials). He is co-author of State Crime (with Penny Green, 2004) and Law and Crime (with Gerry Johnstone, 2010).