Court expert
Who Can Serve as a Court Expert Witness
A person can be appointed as a court expert witness only if they:
- possess both theoretical and practical specialized knowledge in a given field,
- provide assurance of the proper performance of the duties of an expert witness,
- can confirm their specialized knowledge with documents or other evidence,
- enjoy full civil and citizen rights,
- are at least 25 years old.
Who Is a Court Expert Witness
A court expert witness is a specialist who supports the court during legal proceedings or the prosecution office during pre-trial proceedings with their knowledge and professional experience in a specific expert area (so-called specialized knowledge). Expert witnesses are appointed in both civil and criminal cases. This is necessary when the subject of the dispute is complex enough to require the opinion or calculations of an expert in a narrow field (e.g., business management economics, business valuation).
Parties to a legal dispute—or those preparing to enter into one—also make use of expert witnesses. Such support may involve commissioning a so-called private opinion (i.e., a specialist analysis carried out by someone listed as a permanent court expert witness) or using advisory services. Advisory services may include, for example, determining what documents an expert typically needs to answer a specific question. This allows a party to submit all the necessary documentation with the initial claim and include a clearly formulated question for the expert to be appointed by the court (a different expert than the one consulted). This helps save time and avoids delays during the trial due to missing documents.
Practical Aspects of Court Expert Witnesses' Work
The geographical scope of an expert witness’s work is not strictly limited to the district of the regional court with which they are affiliated—although most work typically takes place within that area. However, in certain cases, it is purposeful to seek an expert from a different part of the country. This happens, for example, when the case involves a local authority or major local employer, in order to select an expert who is entirely independent of the parties.
The lack of ties to any party in the dispute is a critical condition that must always be met, as it enhances the impartiality of the expert.
Court expert witness lists are public and available on the websites of regional courts. These lists include the names of expert witnesses, their academic or professional titles, area of specialization, contact details, and the date of the end of their term. Expert witnesses are appointed for five-year terms. After that, they may reapply and undergo a reappointment process, provided they submit the required documents.
It is also common for an expert to be listed as a permanent court expert with more than one regional court. This occurs especially in niche disciplines with very few experts. Sometimes, one expert serves several neighboring or closely located districts.
How Much Does a Court Expert Witness’s Opinion Cost?
When an expert provides an opinion based on a court or prosecutor’s order, their compensation is governed by legal regulations. The relevant regulations are:
- Regulation of the Minister of Justice on expert witness compensation rates, flat-rate tariffs, and methods of documenting necessary expenses for issuing an opinion in criminal proceedings / Rozporządzenie Ministra Sprawiedliwości w sprawie określenia stawek wynagrodzenia biegłych, taryf zryczałtowanych oraz sposobu dokumentowania wydatków niezbędnych dla wydania opinii w postępowaniu karnym (Journal of Laws 2024, item 615);
- Regulation of the Minister of Justice on expert witness compensation rates, flat-rate tariffs, and methods of documenting necessary expenses for issuing an opinion in civil proceedings / Rozporządzenie Ministra Sprawiedliwości w sprawie określenia stawek wynagrodzenia biegłych, taryf zryczałtowanych oraz sposobu dokumentowania wydatków niezbędnych dla wydania opinii w postępowaniu cywilnym (Journal of Laws 2024, item 627).
According to these regulations, compensation depends on a so-called base amount, which is updated annually in the State Budget Act—making it a variable rate.
When an expert prepares a private opinion, their compensation is not regulated by the above-mentioned laws and is subject to individual agreement between the parties.
Please note: the role of a court expert witness is distinct from that of a tax expert witness. These are separate functions, with different lists and entry procedures.
Court Expert Witness – Finance Specialist
Dr. Agnieszka Wójcik has served as a court expert witness since 2016. She currently holds this position at the Regional Court in Lublin, the Regional Court in Siedlce, and the Regional Court in Zamość (all courts fall under the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal in Lublin).
She is an expert in the following areas (based on the classification used by the Lublin Regional Court):
- Economic analysis of enterprises;
- Analysis of accounting records;
- Economics and management;
- Finance and accounting;
- Bookkeeping;
- Accounting;
- Accounting, finance, business valuation, valuation of companies, shares, and stocks;
- Accounting and finance, as well as management accounting and controlling;
- Business management;
- Business organization and economics.
- Links to official lists of court expert witnesses:
- Regional Court in Lublin; https://www.lublin.so.gov.pl/lista-bieglych,m,m1,2,270
- Reginal Court in Siedlce: https://www.siedlce.so.gov.pl/sos/obsluga-interesanta/informacje-dodatkowe-dl/biegli-sadowi/14442,lista-bieglych-sadowych.html
- Regional Court in Zamość: https://zamosc.so.gov.pl/biegli-sadowi,m,mg,3,24
Dr. Agnieszka Wójcik has experience preparing expert opinions for both civil and criminal proceedings.
In the case of private opinions, she provides services exclusively for civil cases. The offer does not include private opinions for criminal cases.
