PI Focus: Expert Evidence In Cross Border Claims

Cases involving a foreign element can be a minefield for practitioners, and with foreign travel back on the agenda after the end of the Covid lockdowns it is important to reacquaint ourselves with the rules around expert evidence in these cases.

The first question to be asked when a claim involving a foreign element lands on your desk is what law will be applicable to the claim. The answer, in tortious claims, is to be found in Regulation (EC) No.864/2007 (known as Rome II – the Rome I regulation governs applicable law in contractual claims). The general rule is that the law of the country in which the accident took place will be the applicable law, and crucially this includes that country's law on limitation. Some popular tourist destinations have limitation periods as short as six months for some causes of action, and so the second question, having established the applicable law, is what limitation period applies. The foreign applicable law will govern all