Three chartered surveyors have become the first in Northern Ireland to receive a leading qualification for expert witnesses in court cases.
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Chris Callan, Fergie Bell and Ed Moody are the only chartered surveyors in Northern Ireland to successfully complete the course provided by Law Society and Bar Council-approved expert witness training company, London-based Bond Solon. |
The Certificate of Expert Witness that the chartered surveyors have received is run jointly with Cardiff University.
Ian Murray, director of RICS Northern Ireland, which brought the course to Belfast, said that chartered surveyors play an important role in accurately informing the judicial process.
“The role of the expert witness is often a key component in the legal process, as high profile court cases involving evidence from medical professionals in recent times have demonstrated,” he said.
“Chartered surveyors can find themselves providing crucial evidence in cases involving, for example, contractual disputes in the construction industry, landlord and tenant issues relating to rent reviews, lease renewals, restrictive covenants, rating appeals, boundary disputes between the owners of neighbouring properties, or planning appeals,” Mr Murray continued.
“Research shows that a large majority of solicitors now expect expert witnesses to be fully trained in writing witness reports and giving oral evidence before the courts and in arbitrations, so it is crucial that chartered surveyors wishing to be expert witnesses undertake training courses like this one,” Mr Murray added.
