The Telendos - Fed. Ct. of Appeal (Thurlow C.J., Pratte J., and Verschere D.J.

Admiralty action - Whether expert evidence admissible where Nautical Assessors appointed

The Federal Court of Appeal considered in some detail the question whether a party could adduce expert evidence relating to a particular aspect of navigation, where nautical assessors had been appointed to assist the court. The Court recognized that there was a long line of jurisprudence both in England and in Canada which established that in Admiralty, when the judge had the assistance of nautical assessors, expert evidence on matters of navigation and seamanship was not admissible.