Initial vetting

From its beginnings in 1988, the UK Register of Expert Witnesses has objectively checked the witness part of the expert witness equation for all applicants opting for a vetted listing.

• We ensure that all vetted experts are independently vetted by us.
• There are no exceptions to our vetting procedure.

Our vetting procedure

On receipt of an application for a vetted entry we contact instructing lawyers requesting an opinion as to their satisfaction with the expert concerned in a number of key work categories – civil, criminal, SJE, report writing, courtroom skills (oral evidence and cross-examination). If the legal professional feels able to make a recommendation of the expert to legal colleagues in general, then the expert is eligible for inclusion as a vetted expert.

Re-vetting

All experts are offered the opportunity to submit to regular scrutiny by instructing lawyers in a number of key areas. The results of the re-vetting process are published in summary form in the printed Register, and in detail in the software and on-line versions.

What we publish

An expert’s on-line entry shows the most current vetted date in each aspect of expert witness work vetted, as well as a running total of the number of individuals who have recommended the expert witness. From this, lawyers will be able to gain an appreciation for each expert of:

• how recently the vetting was undertaken
• the number of recommendations received.

For each expert we publish a generalised ‘last vetted’ date in the printed Register, as well as the total number of positive recommendations gained to date by the expert.