Perjury Act 1911
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1911 c. 6 |
Perjury Act, 1911,
(1 & 2 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 6.
An Act to consolidate and simplify the Law relating to Perjury and kindred offences.
[29th June 1911]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Perjury.
(1) If any person lawfully sworn as a witness or as an interpreter in a judicial proceeding wilfully makes a statement material in that proceeding, which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be guilty of perjury, and shall, on conviction thereof on indictment, be liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding seven years, or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine or to both such penal servitude or imprisonment and fine.
(2) The expression ‘judicial proceeding’ includes a proceeding before any court, tribunal, or person having by law power to hear, receive, and examine evidence on oath.
(3) Where a statement made for the purposes of a judicial proceeding is not made before the tribunal itself, but is made on oath before a person authorised by law to administer an oath to the person who makes the statement, and to record or authenticate the statement, it shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as having been made in a judicial proceeding.
(4) A statement made by a person lawfully sworn in England for the purposes of a judicial proceeding—
(a ) in another part of His Majesty's dominions; or
(b ) in a British tribunal lawfully constituted in any place by sea or land outside His Majesty's dominions; or
(c ) in a tribunal of any foreign state,
shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as a statement made in a judicial proceeding in England.
(5) Where, for the purposes of a judicial proceeding in England, a person is lawfully sworn under the authority of an Act of Parliament—
(a ) in any other part of His Majesty's dominions; or
(b ) before a British tribunal or a British officer in a foreign country, or within the jurisdiction on the Admiralty of England;
a statement made by such person so sworn as aforesaid (unless the Act of Parliament under which it was made otherwise specifically provides) shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having been made in the judicial proceeding in England for the purposes whereof it was made.
(6) The question whether a statement on which perjury is assigned was material is a question of law to be determined by the court of trial.
2 False statements on oath made otherwise than in a judicial proceeding.
2. If any person—
(1) being required or authorised by law to make any statement on oath for any purpose, and being lawfully sworn (otherwise than in a judicial proceeding) wilfully makes a statement which is material for that purpose anil which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true; or
(2) wilfully uses any false affidavit for the purposes of the Bills of Sale Act, 1878 , as amended by any subsequent enactment,
he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and, on conviction thereof on indictment, shall be liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding seven years or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine or to both such penal servitude or imprisonment and fine.
3 False statements, &c. with reference to marriage.
(1) If any person—
(a ) for the purpose of procuring a marriage, or a certificate or licence for marriage, knowingly and wilfully makes a false oath, or makes or signs a false declaration, notice or certificate required under any Act of Parliament for the time being in force relating to marriage; or
(b ) knowingly and wilfully makes, or knowingly and wilfully causes to be made, for the purpose of being inserted in any register of marriage, a false statement as to any particular required by law to be known and registered relating to any marriage; or
(c ) forbids the issue of any certificate or licence for marriage by falsely representing himself to be a person whose consent to the marriage is required by law knowing such representation to be false,
he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and, on conviction thereof on indictment, shall be liable to penal servitude for a term not exceeding seven years or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine or to both such penal servitude or imprisonment and fine.
(2) No prosecution for knowingly and wilfully making a false declaration for the purpose of procuring any marriage out of the district in which the parties or one of them dwell shall take place after the expiration of eighteen months from the solemnization of the marriage to which the declaration refers.
4 False statements, &c. as to births or deaths.
(1) If any person—
(a ) wilfully makes any false answer to any question put to him by any registrar of births or deaths relating to the particulars required to be registered concerning any birth or death, or, wilfully gives to any such registrar any false information concerning any birth or death or the cause of any death; or
(b ) wilfully makes any false certificate or declaration under or for the purposes of any Act relating to the registration of births or deaths, or, knowing any such certificate or declaration to be false, uses the same as true or gives or sends the same as true to any person; or
(c ) wilfully makes, gives or uses any false statement or declaration as to a child born alive as having been still-born, or as to the body of a deceased person or a still-born child in any coffin, or falsely pretends that any child born alive was still-born; or
(d ) makes any false statement with intent to have the same inserted in any register of births or deaths:
he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable—
(i) on conviction thereof on indictment, to penal servitude for a term not exceeding seven years, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine instead of either of the said punishments; and
(ii) on summary conviction thereof, to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.
(2) A prosecution on indictment for an offence against this section shall not be commenced more than three years after the commission of the offence.
5 False statutory declarations and other false statements without oath.
5. If any person knowingly and wilfully makes (otherwise than on oath) a statement false in a material particular, and the statement is made—
he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable on conviction thereof on indictment to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two years, or to a fine or to both such imprisonment and fine.
6 False declarations, &c. to obtain registration, &c. for carrying on a vocation.
6. If any person—
by wilfully making or producing or causing to be made or produced either verbally or in writing, any declaration...
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