Surveyors acting as expert witnesses: professional statement: RICS professional statements -- preamble -- Principal message -- application of professional statement -- duty in providing expert witness -- acting as an expert witness and instructions -- inspections -- reports and oral evidence -- amending the contents of written reports -- agreeing facts and resolving differences -- Single Joint Expert (SJE)/Court Appointed Expert(CAE) -- advocacy and expert witness roles -- conditional fees

Surveyors acting as expert witnesses: guidance note: RICS guidance notes -- application of guidance note and introduction -- general duties -- advice and disclosure -- duties to the tribunal -- instructions and inspections -- evidence of fact -- expert (opinion) evidence -- questions to expert witnesses and answers -- documents -- oral evidence -- advising advocates -- expert witnesses' written reports -- form and content of an expert witness's written report -- meetings between the expert witness and the client's team -- narrowing differences and meetings between experts -- expert evidence, advocacy and a 'dual role' -- basis of charging fees -- conditional fees -- responsibility for expert witness's fees -- immunity of the expert witness -- criminal proceedings

Appendices: sample terms of engagement -- immunity of the expert witness - exemptions -- definitions -- Further reading and glossary of Acts, procedures and protocols

Applies to surveyors when providing expert evidence, whether oral or written, before a range of courts and tribunals in Scotland. This practice statement is also published in the form of an accompanying client guide, a copy of which can be supplied by the expert witness to the prospective client however the client guide does not specifically extend to Scotland. Effective from 6th November 2015.