General report

Growing complexity of technical matter has meant that technical expertise is called upon in more and more legal proceedings. The technical expert is, in general terms, the mediator between technology and the law, he is also entrusted with the task of pointing up the differences in approach and in the nature of authority in these two areas and thus paving the way for mutual understanding. The evaluation of the technical expert's opinion is one of the cardinal problems bound up with the role of the expert in legal procedure. After the presentation of the expert's opinion, the judge is supposed to possess so much specialised knowledge that he can assess the opinion itself in scientific and technical respects and put his finger on any errors the expert may have made. This problem can only be solved via an assessment opinion. First of all, the opinion can be assessed indirectly via evaluation of the credentials and the neutrality and independence of the expert. In direct terms, the opinion can be subjected to a certain - albeit restricted - scrutiny, whether it is generally convincing, as far as the layman is competent to judge. This interpretation alone makes it possible to classify and integrate legally the technical standards and regulations represent expert statements on the scientific and technical theorems based on the knowledge and experience gained in a given area. They are designed to reflect prevailing opinion among leading representatives of the profession and can thus themselves be regarded as expert opinions. As a rule, these opinions will have such weight that - other than in exceptional cases - they will not be invalidated in procedure by deviating opinions from individual experts. (orig./HSCH)