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QMLAC Event: The Challenge of Expert Evidence

When: Wednesday, December 6, 2023, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Where: Online or Room 2.10, Second Floor, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

As part of its ongoing series of conversations around current issues in the legal field, the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre will be facilitating a thought-provoking conversation around the use of expert evidence in civil and criminal proceedings.

On Wednesday 6 December 2023, we will be hosting a panel discussion on ‘The Challenge of Expert Evidence’ from the perspective of the Courts, legal practitioners and the experts themselves.

The current judicial approach to the admissibility of expert evidence in England and Wales has been described as one of laissez-faire. Too much expert opinion evidence, it is argued, is admitted without adequate scrutiny because no clear test is being applied to determine whether the evidence is sufficiently reliable to be admitted.

An attendant question is the extent to which the Judiciary and legal advocates are equipped to deal with expert, sometimes impenetrable material, and the potential for the perfect storm whereby flawed opinion evidence is delivered to the court, but is not tested in a way that would unearth those flaws, and a judgment is given based on that flawed evidence.

We will be joined by a panel of experts, including:

Her Honour Judge Sarah Cove who sits as a Circuit Judge in the East London Family Court. Sarah regularly hears expert evidence in family cases and decides on whether expert evidence is necessary? She is also a Queen Mary Law School alumni

  • Omran Belhadi – criminal defence specialist at Doughty Street with experience representing clients accused of the most serious crimes.
  • Colin Carswell is co-founder and Director of the 'Counter Trafficking Network' (CTN) He is a special advisor to the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into Human Trafficking and previously served in the Met Police, attaining the rank of Superintendent.
  • Dr Nicola Georgiou is a Lecturer in Law teaching Criminal and Evidence Law at QMUL. Her doctoral thesis title was: “Uncertainty in Forensic Science: Conceptualisation, Evaluation and Communication”.

After the panel discussion, there will be a small reception at the end to meet the panellists and keep the conversation going.

**Please note online joining details will be sent the day before the event.

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