Discussing the Expert Report: The Five-Day Deadline and What Your Questions Must Cover

When the expert files the report, a very short window opens for discussing it. Any delay can cost your client the right to ask questions.

When does the deadline start?

The deadline runs from the date the filing of the report is accepted, not from the date you are notified of it. The parties are notified within 24 hours of the acceptance of the filing, and they may review the report and its attachments immediately.

"Any of the litigants may discuss the expert's report by submitting written questions. These questions must be submitted once, within a period not exceeding five days from the date the filing is accepted."

Procedural Rules of the Law of Evidence, Article 126, paragraph 3 (translation; the Arabic text is the original)

"Once" means you will not get to come back with additional questions, so put all your observations in a single memo.

What happens next?

The expert answers the questions and explains their effect on the conclusion, then files the final report, including the preliminary report and the discussion, within a period not exceeding ten days (paragraph 4).

Start with the nine elements

Article 124 sets out what the report must contain, and every missing element is a ready-made question:

1. The court and case details, and the dates of the assignment and of the report.
2. A summary of the dispute and the tasks assigned.
3. The parties, their capacities, and which of them attended.
4. The expert's name, anyone the expert relied on, and their qualifications.
5. The procedures in chronological order, including the signed statements of the litigants.
6. The rules, standards, and sources the expert relied on.
7. The parties' comments on the preliminary report and the expert's view of them.
8. A list of documents, distinguishing those submitted by the parties from those the expert collected.
9. The technical opinion on each issue separately, with its basis.

The limits of the expert's opinion

The expert's opinion is limited to technical matters and does not extend to legal ones (Article 113). If the technical opinion changes depending on how the court decides a legal question, the expert must give an opinion under each possibility.

A note on the power of attorney

Accepting the outcome of the expert report requires an express provision in the power of attorney. A general power to plead is not enough (Article 20, paragraph 2(d)).

Reference: Procedural Rules of the Law of Evidence, issued by Minister of Justice Decision No. 921 dated 1444/03/16 AH.

This article is a general explanation, not legal advice.