In 2011, the UK Supreme Court held by a majority vote that the immunity from suit for breach of duty enjoyed by expert witnesses in legal proceedings should be abolished. This article considers whether similar events would give rise to similar or different outcomes in Italy. According to the Italian legal system, an expert witness appointed by the Court both in criminal and civil proceedings may incur in civil, criminal, and disciplinary liabilities. Even though these liabilities are clearly established in the ‘black letters of the Codes’, the number of cases that have resulted in a conviction can be counted on the fingers of one hand and mainly involve commission of criminal offences. The deep discrepancy between law in books and law in action probably may be explained by the fact that the expert of the Court enjoys a sort of ‘immunity’ in fact, not of law, which in accordance with the Italian system safeguards the Judiciary from actions for damages.
The Liability of the Expert Witness: a deep discrepancy between law in books and law in action in the italian legal system / R.E. Cerchia. - In: EUROPEAN REVIEW OF PRIVATE LAW. - ISSN 0928-9801. - 21:4(2013 Jul), pp. 1091-1104.
The Liability of the Expert Witness: a deep discrepancy between law in books and law in action in the italian legal system
R.E. CerchiaPrimo
2013
Abstract
In 2011, the UK Supreme Court held by a majority vote that the immunity from suit for breach of duty enjoyed by expert witnesses in legal proceedings should be abolished. This article considers whether similar events would give rise to similar or different outcomes in Italy. According to the Italian legal system, an expert witness appointed by the Court both in criminal and civil proceedings may incur in civil, criminal, and disciplinary liabilities. Even though these liabilities are clearly established in the ‘black letters of the Codes’, the number of cases that have resulted in a conviction can be counted on the fingers of one hand and mainly involve commission of criminal offences. The deep discrepancy between law in books and law in action probably may be explained by the fact that the expert of the Court enjoys a sort of ‘immunity’ in fact, not of law, which in accordance with the Italian system safeguards the Judiciary from actions for damages.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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