§ COL. 01
Collaborating expert witness
Takes on the full engagement: studies, writes the report, signs it and ratifies it in court where the proceedings require it. The expert-witness liability is theirs, and the fee covers the whole engagement.
Expert
panel
Six forensic subjects covered by collaborating experts: structures, geotechnics, buildings, installations, materials and public works. Standing from academia, site practice, laboratory or public administration.
Two ways to take part
Contributing expertise does not mean going to court
An expert report involves two distinct pieces of work. One is the technical study of a specific subject. The other is writing the report, signing it and defending it before a court. You can do both, or only the first.
§ COL. 02
Specialist consultant
Carries out the study in their field and nothing more. The report is written and signed by the forensic lead, who is answerable for it and who appears in court. The consultant does not write, does not sign and does not testify.
§ Subjects
Six subjects, one assignment rule
A matter is assigned to the subject the dispute actually turns on. When none of them fits, the instruction is declined.
§ Where the standing comes from
Six origins of standing, none subsidiary to the others
A report stands on what its signatory can evidence before the court. That evidence has six different origins, and none of them substitutes for the others.
UniversityFull and tenured professors. Peer-reviewed publications and participation in standardisation committees: a record that holds up under cross-examination.
Teaching and practiceAssociate lecturers who combine the university with their own professional practice. Academic judgement plus real instructions.
SiteSite management, technical and production direction with two or three decades of practice. Field experience is standing in itself: no academic credential or teaching role is required. Brings how the built solution actually behaves, which the model does not show.
SpecialismFire protection, acoustics, field geotechnics, thermography and metrology. Subjects that come up rarely and require their own instrumentation.
IndustryFormer technical managers at manufacturers or laboratories, now unaffiliated. They know the system from the inside without representing the brand.
Professional bodyExperts on the rosters of other professional bodies and regions, for matters whose jurisdiction lies outside Catalonia.
When a panel expert is brought in
When the disputed subject requires knowledge the forensic lead cannot evidence on their own: the state of the art of a discipline, a testing campaign with specific instrumentation, or hands-on practice of a particular construction procedure. The decision follows the subject of the matter, not the availability of the collaborator.
How they fit into the report
In every case the forensic lead keeps the relationship with counsel, the preparation of the case file and the procedural responsibility.
The collaborating expert witness intervenes where their judgement is decisive — the calculation model, the testing campaign, the interpretation of results — and drafts the technical conclusions within their field. They sign what they endorse and confirm it in court under article 347 of the Spanish Civil Procedure Act.
The specialist consultant delivers the study in their field and their involvement ends there. The report is written and signed by the forensic lead, who is answerable for it and appears in court if the proceedings require it. The study is included as an annex, credited to the consultant if they authorise it.
What it brings before the court
A signatory whose record is documentary — publications, professional registration, evidenced years of site direction, laboratory accreditation — gives the court something it can verify. Under cross-examination, that record is fact rather than a party's assertion.
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Collaboration
Registration in the collaborators register
The register admits academic and professional profiles on equal terms, whether or not they sign the report. The terms of collaboration and the real availability of instructions are set out on each registration page.