THEY SHOULD BE among the most highly respected members of the community, leaders in their field willing to put their reputations on the line.
But Hong Kong's expert witnesses, those called to give specialist evidence in court, are under attack. They are being seen as 'hired guns', prepared to distort their opinions to favour the side paying their fees, instead of providing the court with an honest and independent view.
The latest salvo was fired by a High Court judge this week. Mr Justice William Stone pulled no punches when he addressed a conference in Happy Valley on Monday.
'The much-respected institution of the expert witness is in a state of disrepair, and this unfortunate state of affairs seems to me to be almost entirely self-inflicted,' said the judge, a specialist in commercial cases.
He warned that experts were being infected by the gladiatorial nature of the legal system, which pits one side against the other.
'The contagion of the adversarial system has served sorely to diminish the fundamental integrity of the expert witness. In civil, commercial disputes, many so-called experts today permit themselves to become little more than hired guns - perhaps only the uncharitable might use the term mercenaries - willing to sell their services to whatever side is willing to stump up for their expertise,' Mr Justice Stone said.