Malaysian High Court Implies Additional Duties For Experts

For the first time, the Malaysian High Court has found that party-appointed experts owe implied duties to the court. It is well-established that expert witnesses owe a duty to assist courts and arbitrators, but this is typically understood as requiring experts to provide their evidence independently and impartially. The Court's decision in Linsun Engineering Sdn Bhd v Shin Eversendai Engineering Sdn Bhd expands this duty by further requiring experts to ensure their ability and availability to give evidence at trial.

This is significant as experts in Malaysian disputes may now be personally sanctioned for a failure to testify at trial, a risk which experts should closely take note of.