Rules are not made to be Broken

The Federal Court Rules (2011) outline rules in relation to all aspects of court proceedings and includes rules with regards to experts.  Rule 23.15, Evidence of Experts, notes the orders available if two or more parties to a proceeding intend to call experts to provide an opinion on evidence about a comparable question.

Parties can apply for one or more of the orders listed in Rule 23.15.  The orders parties can apply for include (non exhaustive):

(a)  that the experts confer, either before or after writing their expert reports;

(b)  that the experts produce to the Court a document identifying where the expert opinion agree or differ;

(c)  that the expert’s evidence in chief be limited to the contents of the expert’s expert report;

(d)  that all factual evidence relevant to any expert’s opinions be adduced before the expert is called to give evidence (Federal Court Rules, 2011).

The general reason why these orders have been included in the Federal Court Rules (2011) is to avoid wasting time during court proceedings.

For forensic accounting expert witnesses presenting evidence in court for the first time, I would recommend adhering to all court orders to ensure the case is processed in a timely matter.  The evidence you provide should appeal extensively because of its logic, rather than because of your credibility (no prior experience as an expert witness) (Craig, Smieliauskas & Amernic, 2014).  Whilst providing evidence in court, state facts and give your expert opinion when requested, rather than overwhelming the Court with information.  Essentially, this will save time.  After all, that is why the orders of Rule 23.15 were included in the Federal Court Rules (2011). 

References

Craig, R., Smieliauskas, W. & Amernic, J.  (2014).  Assessing Conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Using Expert Accounting Witness Evidence and the Conceptual Framework.  Australian Accounting Review, 24, 200–206.  doi: 10.1111/auar.12039

Federal Court Rules 2011 (Clth).  Retrieved from: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2011L01551