The Expert's Duties
Expert witnesses in immigration proceedings are required to maintain impartiality. Their evidence is intended to assist the tribunal in reaching a fair and informed decision. Responsibilities include providing opinion on risk assessment and country conditions, and preparing comprehensive expert reports compliant with Immigration Tribunal guidance including Practice Direction paragraph 10 (2023) and the Adam Pipe October 2025 guide.
What a Persecution Report Contains
- Expert's qualifications and methodology
- Sources used (CPINs, UNHCR reports, NGO reports, field research, tribunal decisions)
- Country conditions relevant to the specific profile
- Persecution risk analysis (Convention ground, actors, state protection)
- Internal relocation analysis
- Expert's opinion
- Statement of truth
Going Beyond the CPIN
In many cases solicitors and advocates instruct an expert witness to provide specialist evidence. Experts research issues such as political instability, human rights abuses, discrimination, or specific targeting of a group.
The expert's role is not to reproduce the CPIN but to provide independent analysis that may go beyond it, particularly where: the CPIN does not address the specific profile; country conditions have changed since the CPIN was published; or the individual facts require analysis the CPIN cannot provide.
Legal Aid Compatibility
Persecution expert reports are commonly instructed under Legal Aid. Solicitors should obtain LAA prior authority before the expert begins work. Indicative fees are available on request for prior authority applications. See our how to instruct for Legal Aid rates and privately funded options.
Timeline from Instruction to Report
Standard persecution expert reports typically take 2 to 3 weeks from receipt of the letter of instruction and relevant documents. The timeline includes: initial case review and scoping (1 to 2 business days), research and analysis (1 to 2 weeks), report drafting and quality review (3 to 5 business days), and delivery to the instructing solicitor.
Urgent instructions are available for imminent tribunal hearings subject to expert availability. For the full instruction process, see how to instruct a persecution expert.