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Oaths Act 1978

Consolidated Text As Enacted Cited authorities 19 Cited in Amendments 68 Related
Vincent
JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1978 c. 19
(1) Any oath may be administered and taken in England, Wales or Northern Ireland in the following form and manner:—The person taking the oath shall hold the New Testament, or, in the case of a Jew, the Old Testament, in his uplifted hand, and shall say or repeat after the officer administering the oath the words “I swear by Almighty God that . . . . . .”, followed by the words of the oath prescribed by law.(2) The officer shall (unless the person about to take the oath voluntarily objects thereto, or is physically incapable of so taking the oath) administer the oath in the form and manner aforesaid without question.(3) In the case of a person who is neither a Christian nor a Jew, the oath shall be administered in any lawful manner.(4) In this section “officer” means any person duly authorised to administer oaths.(a) section 28(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 (b) section 56(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968
  • If any person to whom an oath is administered desires to swear with uplifted hand, in the form and manner in which an oath is usually administered in Scotland, he shall be permitted so to do, and the oath shall be administered to him in such form and manner without further question.
    • (1) In any case in which an oath may lawfully be and has been administered to any person, if it has been administered in a form and manner other than that prescribed by law, he is bound by it if it has been administered in such form and with such ceremonies as he may have declared to be binding.(2) Where an oath has been duly administered and taken, the fact that the person to whom it was administered had, at the time of taking it, no religious belief, shall not for any purpose affect the validity of the oath.(1) Any person who objects to being sworn shall be permitted to make his solemn affirmation instead of taking an oath.(2) Subsection (1) above shall apply in relation to a person to whom it is not reasonably practicable without inconvenience or delay to administer an oath in the manner appropriate to his religious belief as it applies in relation to a person objecting to be sworn.(3) A person who may be permitted under subsection (2) above to make his solemn affirmation may also be required to do so.(4) A solemn affirmation shall be of the same force and effect as an oath.

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