Most people have seen it on movies or TV shows. Oaths and affirmations…putting your hand on the Bible and swearing to tell the truth and nothing but…However, what are the specifics? What do these things mean in the legal world? Check out, The Purpose and Procedures for Making Oaths and Affirmations, below!

“The Purpose and Procedure for Making Oaths and Affirmations

Once you’ve taken the Oath or given an Affirmation in Court you are legally obliged to be completely honest. If you’re caught out lying you can be charged with perjury, contempt of Court or even perverting the course of justice. Lying under oath can be both a criminal and a civil offence. The punishment could include a fine and/or a jail sentence, depending on what effect the lie has.

There are many examples of people accused of lying under oath. Jeffery Archer went to prison for four and a half years for lying in a libel case. On the other hand, Rupert Murdoch was recently accused of lying under oath at the Leveson Inquiry by Gordon Brown, but to date no proceedings have been taken. So what exactly is being sworn, who is it sworn to and when are they used?

Oaths

An oath is a verbal promise to tell the truth. They are frequently made while holding the Bible, but it is possible to swear on another relevant religious text. If a person has no particular religious belief they can make an affirmation, which we will discuss below.

Oaths are used in many areas of legal practice. In contentious work they will appear in both Criminal and Civil Litigation. In non-contentious work there are documents that must be sworn as true in Probate and Conveyancing work.

Where an oath is given in contentious proceedings, such as for a witness appearing in court, the form of oath taken is as follows:

‘I swear (or promise) by Almighty God (or the person may name a god recognised by his or her religion) that the evidence I shall give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’

If an Oath is sworn outside court proceedings it will take a slightly different form, as follows:

‘I swear (or promise) by Almighty God (or the person may name a god recognised by his or her religion) that (followed by the words of the oath prescribed or allowed by law, so for example in a probate application you might swear that you have include the last will and testament of the deceased).’

In legal practice solicitors will often be asked to administer oaths for clients of other firms. This is to ensure that the solicitor administering the Oath is independent. The reason solicitors can administer Oaths is because they are officers of the Court, and they will usually charge a minimum of £5 for each document which they swear.”

…to be continued…

Stick around for Part II, and contact me for all of your legal training needs!