In cases involving medical issues, the medicolegal consultation, comprising history-taking and examination, supplemented sometimes by tests or investigations and, wherever possible, information from an informant, lies at the heart of the process of assisting the court. It provides the psychiatric expert with the opportunity to use training, skill and experience to explore by effective questioning the subject’s symptoms, in the context of their family, personal and medical history and personality, and, through careful observation of the physical and mental state, to assess their current condition. The consultation requires the highest standards and should be conducted with an awareness and understanding of the potential effects of the proceedings on the subject.