Virtual Course on Expert Evidence in Oral Civil Proceedings
Latin America is currently experiencing an intense civil procedure reform process. Several countries in the region have already reformed aspects of their civil justice systems and others are discussing or designing bills to achieve the same.
The great majority of these reforms have included the use of oral procedures as a way to conduct civil proceedings. In this context, questions emerge about the presentation of one of the most important types of evidence: expert evidence.
This course, which was designed by JSCA staff and Professor Mauricio Duce, is designed to present key elements for understanding the logic and challenges of the use of expert evidence in the context of the implementation of oral civil procedure systems in Latin America.
- To explain general aspects and basic concepts related to the context in which the rules that regulate the use of expert evidence in civil proceedings should be interpreted and used.
- To identify the main elements of expert evidence organization to be considered in the legal design of civil proceedings.
- To identify special admissibility criteria that should be met by expert evidence in light of comparative experiences.
- To identify basic notions regarding the main objectives of litigation of expert evidence in trial hearings. Contents
Module 1: General aspects of expert evidence
- The role and importance of expert evidence in contemporary civil proceedings
- Who is an expert and what is expert evidence?
- What contributions do experts make?
- The difference between experts and expert witnesses and their consequences
- Civil procedure reforms and the implementation of hearing-based systems
- The traditional paradigm
- The adversarial paradigm
- The risks of the use of expert evidence
- The adequacy of the expert
- The reliability of the expert’s work
- The method of producing expert evidence at trial
- Discovery as a basic assumption of litigation
- Relevant litigation topics for the presentation and examination of experts
- Relevant litigation topics for the cross-examination of experts
The suggested course calendar is presented below:
The above notwithstanding, the instructor will publish the course contents and information about the assessments and final paper on the first day of the course (24 hours). This will allow students to adjust the course activities to their personal and professional schedules. Students should complete the multiple choice assessments upon completing each module. Students should complete the final paper after finishing 4 modules and the respective assessments. Each assessment has 10 questions and 1 point will be awarded per question. The maximum score is thus 10 points. The final paper will be graded as “fail,” “pass” or “outstanding” based on the evaluation guidelines that will be distributed in advance.
- Introduction to the e-learning platform May 3-9
- Module 1: May 10-16 (contents and evaluation)
- Module 2: May 17-23 (contents and evaluation)
- Module 3: May 24-30 (contents and evaluation)
- Module 4: May 31- June 6 (contents and evaluation)
- Final paper: June 7-20 (5 to 10 pages)
- Grades and Certification: June 21-30
The above notwithstanding, the instructor will publish the course contents and information about the assessments and final paper on the first day of the course (24 hours). This will allow students to adjust the course activities to their personal and professional schedules. Students should complete the multiple choice assessments upon completing each module. Students should complete the final paper after finishing 4 modules and the respective assessments. Each assessment has 10 questions and 1 point will be awarded per question. The maximum score is thus 10 points. The final paper will be graded as “fail,” “pass” or “outstanding” based on the evaluation guidelines that will be distributed in advance.
The cost of the course is US$100 (one hundred US dollars).
Once you have registered using the electronic form, you will receive an email with payment instructions. You will have two payment options:
- Early group registration discount:** 40% discount (final price of US$60)-***:
- Institutions***: 50% discount (final price of US$50) *Through March 31, 2021.
** 4 or more people.
*** 10 or more people.
- Payments completed outside of Chile: Online payment using a link to a credit card in dollars.
- Payments completed within Chile: Online payment using Red Compra or a credit card.
- Early group registration discount:** 40% discount (final price of US$60)-***:
- Institutions***: 50% discount (final price of US$50) *Through March 31, 2021.
** 4 or more people.
*** 10 or more people.
Litigators and judges. This course is designed for individuals who work in the civil justice system, but it is useful for litigators who work in the criminal justice system as well due to its structure.
Students who wish to receive virtual certification for the course may do so if they have passed the assessments at the end of each module and the final paper.
The certification will be granted for 48 classroom hours. The certification will only be distributed digitally and will indicate the dates of the course and whether or not the student passed the course. It will also describe the course contents.
Students who earn an average grade of 70% on the assessments for each module and pass the final paper will pass the course. Certificates will differentiate between students who have passed and outstanding students:
- Average grade of 7 to 8.9 on the assessments and paper assigned grade of “pass” or “outstanding”: Pass.
- Average grade of 9 to 10 on the assessments and paper assigned grade of “outstanding”: Outstanding.
For more information, contact Ananías Reyes at ananias.reyes@cejamericas.org