Court experts: what to mask before reusing an expert report outside the case
An expert report goes to the court unmasked. Reusing it for training, an application or a sub-expert is different: the rules, and what to mask.
You never mask an expert report for the court or the parties. They get it in full, and that is normal. Masking matters when the report leaves the case: a training sample, an application file, a peer review, part of a file for a sub-expert. Some of these uses need the judge's permission or the party's consent, however well you mask.
This guide covers France, Germany, and England and Wales. It is information, not legal advice: your court, your experts' association, your chamber of commerce or a lawyer knows your case. Other countries have their own rules.
When can a court expert reuse a report outside the case?
The idea is the same everywhere: what you learn in a case belongs to that case. The texts differ on who can lift that limit. Here are the main ones, as of October 2026.
| Where | Text | What it restricts | What makes reuse possible |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | Code de procédure civile (Code of Civil Procedure), article 247 | Using the expert's opinion outside the case if disclosure would harm private life or another legitimate interest | The judge's authorisation, or the consent of the party concerned |
| Germany | Criminal Code (StGB), section 203(2), no. 5 | Disclosing another person's secret without authority. It covers only publicly appointed experts formally bound under a law. Up to one year in prison or a fine | Authority to disclose, such as an express release from secrecy by whoever commissioned you |
| Germany | DIHK (German chambers of commerce) model rules, MSVO, section 16, and DIHK guidelines of 15 April 2026 | Passing on or using what you learned in the job, without authority, even after the job ends | Anonymised use, for example for comparison or statistics, if nobody can trace the client, the case or the object, even indirectly |
| England and Wales | Civil Procedure Rules, rule 31.22 | A party using documents disclosed to it for anything but that case (your report may quote them) | A public hearing that read or mentioned them, the court's permission, or the agreement of the discloser and the owner. The court can still restrict use |
| England and Wales, children cases | Family Procedure Rules, rule 12.73, and Administration of Justice Act 1960, section 12 | Passing on information from private proceedings about children. Publishing it can be contempt of court | Listed recipients, the court's permission, or Practice Direction 12G. The public only with the court's permission |
In France, the CNCEJ (the national council of court experts' associations) has its own ethics rules. Its 2025 vade-mecum says the expert tells no third party any information gathered during the expertise. Article 244 of the Code of Civil Procedure also bars the expert from revealing information the opinion does not need. In Germany, if you are not publicly appointed, ask the court which duties apply to you.
What identifies a case in an expert report, beyond names?
Names are the easy part. Many other details point to one case, and people who know it will recognise it at once.
- The court's case number and your file reference, on the cover and in every header.
- The property's address, its land registry reference, the view from a window.
- The dates of site meetings and the names of those present.
- The names of the judge, the lawyers and the other experts.
- Medical findings, sick leave, an injury described in words.
- Money: the amount claimed, repair quotes, bank details, a claim number.
- A rare failure: the only roof of that type to collapse in that town that year.
Ask who will read the sample. A trainee from another region knows little. A colleague at the same court or the local insurer knows a lot. Mask for the best-informed reader.
Why is the court's case number so revealing?
A case number points to one case at one court. In France it is the RG number, from the court's general register. In Germany it is the Aktenzeichen, in England and Wales the claim or case number. An informed reader knows exactly which case you mean.
A number left in a sample can lead to a published decision. In England and Wales, you can search any term on the National Archives' Find Case Law service. Judgments often show the case number in their header. In France, says the Ministry of Justice, open-data decisions always hide the names of individuals who are parties or third parties. Other identifying details are hidden only on request.
What should you mask in photos, plans and annexes?
Photos and annexes leak more than the text, because nobody reads them line by line. Check for these details.
- Faces, tattoos and bodies in medical photos. Cover the whole area, not just the eyes.
- House numbers, street signs, shop fronts, landmarks seen through a window.
- Number plates of cars parked near the site.
- Letterheads in annexes: insurer, builder, laboratory, hospital.
- Stamps, signatures and handwritten notes on plans.
Scanned annexes are pictures of text. A search will not find a name in them unless OCR read the page. OCR is software that turns a picture of text into text. Handwriting is often missed, so look at every page yourself.
How do you send only part of the file to a sub-expert?
In France, article 278 of the Code of Civil Procedure lets the expert consult another technician, but only in a different specialty. The CNCEJ's ethics rules say the expert's secrecy binds anyone consulted, who must be told first. In German civil cases, a court expert who needs further experts must tell the court at once (Zivilprozessordnung, section 407a(1)).
- List the questions the sub-expert must answer.
- Copy only the pages they need into a new file: lab results, plan, photos of the crack.
- Mask what they do not need: the parties' names, bank details, unrelated medical history.
- Check page by page, then send with a note on their duty of secrecy.
- Record what you sent, to whom and when.
For the masking step, ONYRI Sanitize finds names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, IBANs and dates in a report, and reads scanned annexes with OCR on your device. “Draw an area” covers photos, plans, stamps and signatures. A court number is detected only right after a known label such as “case number”, “n° de dossier” or “Aktenzeichen”; “N° RG” is not one, so add a bare number with “Also mask”. Street addresses in the UK and Belgium are not covered, and medical findings written in words are not detected.
Why must the filed report stay untouched?
The report you filed is evidence. Never edit it, overwrite it or mask the only copy. Work on a copy with a new name, so nobody mistakes the sample for the original.
Keep a short note with it: the purpose, any authorisation or consent you needed, and what you masked. If anyone asks later, you can answer in a minute.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an old report as a training sample?
Sometimes, but masking alone is not the test. In France, you need the judge's authorisation or the party's consent if sharing would harm private life or another legitimate interest. In Germany, the DIHK guidelines require that nobody can trace the client, the case or the object. Otherwise you need the express release of whoever commissioned you. In England and Wales, ask your instructing solicitor or the court.
Should a German expert redact reports sent to the chamber of commerce for appointment?
Not as a rule, says the DIHK guidance of 15 April 2026: the chamber must check them in full. The exception is data of people with no part in the case, such as other drivers' number plates. Your own chamber's rules may differ, so ask it first.
Can I quote my report in a technical article?
Quote the technical finding, not the case. Describe the defect, the method and the result in general terms, without dates, places or amounts the point does not need. If the case is still recognisable, get the permission the table names for your country first.
Sources & references
- Le vade-mecum de l'expert de justice, 6th edition (2025), quoting articles 244, 247 and 278 of the Code de procédure civile and the CNCEJ ethics rules (in French)Conseil national des compagnies d'experts de justice (CNCEJ)
- Strafgesetzbuch, section 203: Verletzung von Privatgeheimnissen (in German)Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany (gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Zivilprozessordnung, section 407a: Weitere Pflichten des Sachverständigen (in German)Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany (gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Muster-Sachverständigenordnung (model rules for publicly appointed experts), version of 25 June 2025, section 16 Schweigepflicht (in German)DIHK, published on svv.ihk.de
- Richtlinien zur Mustersachverständigenordnung, as of 15 April 2026, points 5.2.3, 16.1.2 and 16.3.2 (in German)DIHK, published on ihk.de
- Civil Procedure Rules, Part 31, rule 31.22: subsequent use of disclosed documentsMinistry of Justice, United Kingdom
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 12, Chapter 7, rule 12.73: communication of informationMinistry of Justice, United Kingdom
- Practice Direction 12G: communication of informationMinistry of Justice, United Kingdom
- Administration of Justice Act 1960, section 12legislation.gov.uk
- 37th activity report (2019), section 4.3.1: publication of court judgments (in German)Unabhängiges Landeszentrum für Datenschutz Schleswig-Holstein (ULD)
- Open data des décisions de justice (in French)Ministère de la Justice, France
- Find Case Law: searchThe National Archives, United Kingdom
- Justice civile: each civil court keeps a general register of cases, the répertoire général (article 726 of the Code de procédure civile) (in French)INSEE, France