The forthcoming 113th and 114th amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules will see changes to the requirements of the Rules insofar as witness statements and statements of case are concerned, including a change to the wording of the statement of truth.
With effect from 24 February 2020, the statement of truth in claims presented through the Online Money Claims Pilot need to include a statement that the person signing the statement of truth (or the person on whose behalf the statement of truth is signed) understands that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without honest belief in its truth.
This will be followed, from 6 April 2020, with the amendment of Parts 22 and 32, covering witness statements and statements of truth in all claims. The additional wording will need to be included in all statements of truth signed from 6 April 2020.
From 6 April 2020, witness statements will also need to spell out the process by which the statement was given (for example face to face, by telephone or through an interpreter) and be in the witness's own words.
The wording of the new statement of truth for statements of case and application notices will be as follows:
[I believe] [The party believes] that the facts stated in this [name of document] are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
For witness statements, the statement of truth's wording will be as follows:
I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
