Expert Evidence 7 - 8 August 2020

COURSE REPORT

The “Expert Evidence” Course was held on 7th – 8th August 2020 (Friday-Saturday) at the Banquet Hall, Palace of Justice, Putrajaya. The course objective was to provide a comprehensive understanding and overview to participants on (1) the evidence admissibility from an expert and (2) methods of analysis for the expert’s evidence.

YBrs. Tuan Haji Mohamed Zaini bin Abdul Rahman, Director General, Department of Chemistry Malaysia, initiated the first-day programme by giving a lecture on "Expert Evidence in Dangerous Drugs Analysis". The course then continued with the individual presentation and discussion on topics presented by participants consisting of 8 Judges. Following the individual presentation, participants were divided into four groups of three or five members in each group, and each group was assigned with one case study. The participants then presented and discussed the assigned case studies. On the second day, YBhg. Dato' Mah Weng Kwai, Member of Judicial Appointments Commission delivered a lecture on "Role of Expert Witnesses", and was followed by group discussion and presentation.

A total of 18 participants which were High Court Judges attended the course including The Right Honourable Tan Sri Tengku Maimun binti Tuan Mat, Chief Justice of Federal Court, Malaysia; The Right Honourable Dato’ Rohana binti Yusuf, President of the Court of Appeal, Malaysia; The Right Honourable Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Azahar bin Mohamed, Chief Judge of the High Court in Malaya; The Right Honourable Dato’ Abang Iskandar bin Abang Hashim, Chief Judge of the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak; The Honourable Datuk Seri Haji Mohd Zawawi bin Salleh, Federal Court Judge cum the Chairman of the Training Committee of Malaysian Judicial Academy; and The Honourable Datuk Hasnah Binti Dato' Mohammed Hashim, Federal Court Judge. The facilitators of this course were The Honourable Dato’ Lee Swee Seng and The Honourable Tuan Darryl Goon Siew Chye who are both Judges of the Court of Appeal.

PROGRAM BOOK

PROGRAM BOOK DOWNLOAD
Expert Evidence 
7th - 8th August 2020
Banquet Hall
Palace of Justice
Putrajaya
 

GUEST SPEAKERS

 GUEST SPEAKERS  DOWNLOAD
1.Expert Evidence in Dangerous Drugs Analysis
By: YBrs. Tuan Haji Mohamed Zaini bin Abdul Rahman
Director General
Department of Chemistry Malaysia
Ministry of Science, Technology And Innovation (MOSTI)		  
2.Role of Expert Witnesses
By: YBhg. Dato’ Mah Weng Kwai
Member of Judicial Appointments Commission		  

PRESENTATION ON ASSIGNED TOPICS

PRESENTATION ON ASSIGNED TOPICS  DOWNLOAD
1.The Jurisprudential Aspect of Expert Evidence  
Who is an expert?
What is expert evidence?
When is expert evidence required?		  
By: YA Choo Kah Sing
High Court Judge of Shah Alam
  
2.Managing Expert Witnesses  
Case management of expert witnesses – Use of Scott Schedule and joint statement of experts and examples to illustrate – scope and terms of reference of expert report - defining the expert’s agreement and the differences.  
By: YA Tuan Ismail bin Brahim
High Court Judge of Kota Kinabalu		  
3.Hot-tubbing or the Concurrent Giving of Evidence  
Concurrent examination and cross-examination of expert witnesses. The effectiveness of hot-tubbing as a methodology in extracting similarities and differences in experts’ evidence.  
By: YA Dato’ Ahmad bin Bache
High Court Judge of Kuala Lumpur		  
4.Expert Evidence in Medico-Legal Cases
By: YA Dato’ Wan Ahmad Farid bin Wan Salleh
High Court Judge of Kota Bharu		  
5.Expert Evidence in Intellectual Property Cases
By: YA Puan Celestina Stuel Galid
High Court Judge of Sandakan		  
6.Expert Evidence in Corporate and Commercial Cases
By: YA Tuan Azizul Azmi bin Adnan
High Court Judge of Seremban		  
7.Expert Evidence in Construction Cases
By: YA Datuk Mohd Firuz bin Jaffril
High Court Judge of Kuala Lumpur		  
8.Expert Evidence in Criminal Cases
By: YA Puan S.M Komathy a/p Suppiah
High Court Judge of Shah Alam		  

WORKSHOP GROUP

WORKSHOP GROUP  DOWNLOAD
GROUP 1 (Theme: Expert’s Independence & Conflict of Interest)
  
To what extent does the relationship of an expert witness with the party calling him affect the admissibility and/or weight of the expert’s evidence? Discuss with reference to the types of relationships and the approaches taken by the Courts in decided cases.  
  1. YA Datuk Azimah binti Omar
  2. YA Datuk Mohd Firuz bin Jaffril
  3. YA Dato’ Wan Ahmad Farid bin Wan Salleh
  
GROUP 2 (Theme: Signature and Handwriting in Fraud Cases vis-a-vis Matters that the Court May Take Judicial Notice Of)
  
To what extent is a Judge’s personal knowledge of the area of expertise in question relevant and to what extent may the principle of judicial notice be applied to for example scientific theories and professional practices? Discuss with reference to sections 45, 47, 57 and 73 of the Evidence Act and the relevant cases.  
  1. YA Dato' Haji Zainal Azman bin Abdul Aziz
  2. YA Puan S.M. Komathy a/p Suppiah
  3. YA Dato' Abu Bakar bin Katar
  4. YA Tuan Ismail bin Brahim
  5. YA Dato’ Muhammad Jamil bin Hussin
  
GROUP 3 (Theme: Evaluating Expert Evidence)  
May a judge reject the evidence of experts of both parties and come to his own conclusion? Should a Judge’s decision be based on which Expert’s Evidence is the more convincing and how is he to decide if both are equally convincing? Support your answer with authorities  
  1. YA Dato' Nik Hasmat binti Nik Mohamad
  2. YA Dr. Choo Kah Sing
  3. YA Puan Hayatul Akmal binti Abdul Aziz
  4. YA Puan Celestina Stuel Galid
  5. YA Dato’ Khadijah binti Idris
  
GROUP 4 (Theme: Court Expert, Experts of Parties, Special Referee)
Discuss the following:		  
  • When would Order 40 and Order 40A Rules of Court 2012 be utilised and what are the issues associated there-with?
    When should section 24A Courts of Judicature Act 1964 be utilised and why?
  
  • Illustrate the application of those provisions with reference to authorities.
  1. YA Dato’ Rosilah binti Yop
  2. YA Tuan Azizul Azmi bin Adnan
  3. YA Dato’ Ahmad bin Bache
  4. YA Dato' Ahmad Kamal bin Md. Shahid
  5. YA Dato’ Azmi bin Abdullah