Oaths and Affirmations
Oaths
An oath is a verbal promise to tell the truth. Oaths are made while holding the Bible, the New Testament or the Old Testament.
A person must administer an oath as set out in section 100 of the Evidence Act 1958 unless:
- the person/s about to be sworn voluntarily object/s to taking the oath in this manner
- the person/s about to be sworn is physically incapable of taking the oath in this manner
- the person about to administer the oath believes that this form of oath would not be binding on the conscience of the person about to be sworn.
Administering an oath to one person
A person taking an oath shall hold the Bible or other religious book in their uplifted hand and shall repeat after the officer administering the oath or otherwise say:
"I swear by Almighty God that..." followed by the words of the oath.
Administering an oath to more than one person
Two or more people can take an oath at the same time. In this case each person taking the oath shall hold the Bible or other religious book in their uplifted hand and the officer administering the oath shall say:
"You and each of you swear by Almighty God that..." followed by the words of the oath.
Immediately after the officer has said the words of the oath, each person taking the oath shall say:
"I swear by Almighty God to do so".
Swearing with an uplifted hand
If a person taking an oath wishes to swear with uplifted hand (this is the way an oath is usually administered in Scotland) they are also permitted to do so.
Affirmations
An affirmation is a verbal, solemn and formal declaration, which is made in place of an oath. A person may object to taking an oath if an oath is contrary to that person’s religious beliefs. An affirmation has the same effect as an oath.
Oral affirmations
Every person making oral affirmation must commence by stating:
"I, [insert name of person affirming], do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm..." followed by the remaining words of the affirmation.
Two or more people can make an affirmation at the same time. The officer administering the affirmation shall say:
"You and each of you do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm..." followed by the remaining words of the oath. Immediately after the officer has said the words referred to, each person making the affirmation shall say:
"I do so declare and affirm".
Written affirmations
Every written affirmation shall begin with the words:
"I, [insert name of person affirming] of [insert address of person affirming] do solemnly and sincerely affirm".
A jurat
A jurat is the certification at the end of an affirmation stating when and where the affirmation was sworn or affirmed and by whom. This is followed by the signature and title of the person before whom the affirmation was sworn or affirmed.
The jurat shall state:
"Affirmed at [insert place where affirmed] this [insert day, for example, 2nd] day of [insert month, for example, May] [insert year, for example 2000], before me, [insert signature]
[Print, stamp or type name, address and title of witness below signature]
The deponent
The deponent is the person in whose name an affirmation is sworn.
The deponent shall sign their name beside the jurat.
Absence of religious belief
If an oath has been properly administered and taken, the fact that the person to whom the oath was administered had no religious beliefs at that time does not affect the validity of the oath.