RICS launches Expert Witness Accreditation scheme

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched an Expert Witness Accreditation Service (EWAS) for the built environment sector.

The scheme, which is open to all property professionals, is intended to raise standards in a sector that has not previously been subject to professional regulation.

According to the RICS, the new service will operate as an industry benchmark for experts in the built environment, as it will involve robust evaluation and assessment against clear criteria and provide clients with quick and easy access to a regulated service.

Dr John Fletcher, the Institution’s director of alternative dispute resolution, comments: “In the current climate, where the role and quality of experts is under increasing scrutiny, a qualification that signals high standards of expertise and professionalism in this area of practice is not just worthwhile, but has become crucial.”