Katarzyna Kamińska
The Role of an Expert Witness in Civil Procedure with Special Focus on Compensation Matters in Restricted Use Areas
This article presents the necessary theoretical grounds, results of analyses as well as observations and conclusions on the main tasks of an expert witness in evidentiary proceedings in civil matters. The purpose of the article is to identify the activities performed by expert witnesses, especially valuers and experts in the area of construction in compensation cases for value impairment of residential properties located in restricted use areas of Polish airports. The results of the analysis show that courts are shifting the burden of searching for the harmful factor to the expert witness although such expert witness may not replace the court or do the court’s job by suggesting specific conclusions or resolution of the case depending on the final findings of fact. The role of an expert witness is auxiliary to the judicial system in situations requiring specialist knowledge. Special attention is drawn to the American rule of evidence in respect of admissibility of an expert opinion (so called Daubert standard). The accompanying overview of academic literature indicates that relatively few studies have been devoted to the problem of so called private experts.
Keywords: expert witness, expert opinion, restricted use area, Daubert standard
JEL codes: K11, K15, K25
Article type: research article
CITATION (APA): Kamińska, K. (2020). The Role of an Expert Witness in Civil Procedure with Special Focus on Compensation Matters in Restricted Use Areas. World of Real Estate Journal, 114(4), 59-79.
