Alienating behaviour: new guidance on expert witnesses
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Jamie Lennox, Editor, Today's Family Lawyer- 1
- 2 minutes read
The Family Justice Council has published new interim guidance in relation to expert witnesses in cases where there are allegations of alienating behaviours (with regard to conflicts of interest).
On the importance of the expert being alert to potential conflicts of interest, the Family Justice Council/British Psychological Society guidance for Psychologist expert witnesses (reviewed 2022) notes that:
“The expert witness’s overriding duty is to the Court and to be impartial in their evidence; the impartiality of expert witnesses is essential to their evidence; if the psychologist has a view that is controversial as between experts or that might be derived from partiality, she or he must declare the extent of that interest. This is particularly relevant when a psychologist expert recommends an intervention or therapy that they or an associate would benefit financially from delivering. Whilst this may be experienced as helpful and facilitative to the court, this would be a clear conflict of interest and threat to the independence of their expert evidence.”
The Council say the full guidance note on responding to allegations of alienating behaviours will be issued in 2023.
Key issues in the forthcoming guidance will be the timing and scope of expert witness evidence; the types of expert required; and how a court can ensure that they have the requisite qualifications and experience to assist when findings of alienating behaviours, or other harmful parenting practices, have been made. The interim guidance note draws together accepted practice within the field of expert witnesses and previous guidance issued by the PFD and the FPR.
The Council noted that courts should be “extremely cautious” when asked to consider assessment and treatment packages offered by the same or linked providers, adding that “[it] should be noted that differentiation of roles between assessor and intervention is consistent with therapeutic practice outside of the family court arena”.
To read the other suggestions made by the Council so as to how courts can avoid conflicts of interest, see the full interim guidance here.
1 Comment
Congratulations to the Family Justice Council for all the efforts they do to fight against alienating behaviours. In Spain, all the Family Lawyers try to concern the Courts, about the serious damage to the children’s mental health by living alienated from one parent and against the other one. Never finished the family conflict and the children lose without remedy one of the parents. We moved on to avoid those kinds of behaviours by sharing the custody as the first option to establish the parental responsibility plan. Still, Spanish Civil Courts don’t recognize alienation as a syndrome. Since 1985 when Gardner started to write about it, still is not been recognized by the DSM. What a pity!!