Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1866 c. 19


Parliamentary Oaths Act, 1866

(29 & 30 Vict.) C A P. XIX.

An Act to amend the Law relating to Parliamentary Oaths.

[30th April 1866]

W HEREAS it is expedient that One uniform Oath should be taken by Members of both Houses of Parliament on taking their Seats in every Parliament:

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen'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:

S-1 Oath to be taken by Members of Parliament.

1 Oath to be taken by Members of Parliament.

1. The Oath to be made and subscribed by Members of both Houses of Parliament on taking their Seats in every Parliament shall be in the Form following:

'IA.B. do swear that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria; and I do faithfully promise to maintain and support the Succession to the Crown, as the same stands limited and settled by virtue of the Act passed in the Reign of King William the Third, intituled ‘An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown, and better securing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject,’ and of the subsequent Acts of Union with Scotland and Ireland. So help me GOD.'

S-2 The Name of the Sovereign for the Time being to be used in the Oath.

2 The Name of the Sovereign for the Time being to be used in the Oath.

2. Where in the Oath hereby appointed the Name of Her present Majesty is expressed, the Name of the Sovereign of this Kingdom for the Time being by virtue of the Act ‘for the further Limitation of the Crown, and better securing the Rights and Liberties of the Subject,’ shall be substituted from Time to Time with proper Words of Reference thereto.

S-3 Time and Manner of taking the Oath.

3 Time and Manner of taking the Oath.

3. The Oath hereby appointed shall in every Parliament be solemnly and publicly made and subscribed by every Member of the House of Peers at the Table in the Middle of the said House before he takes his Place in the said House, and whilst a full House of Peers is there with their Speaker in his Place, and by every Member of the House of Commons at the Table in the Middle of the said House, and whilst a full House of Commons is there duly sitting, with their Speaker in his Chair, at such Hours and according to such Regulations as each House may by its Standing Orders direct.

S-4 Provision in favour of Quakers, &c.

4 Provision in favour of Quakers, &c.

4. Every Person of the Persuasion of the People called Quakers, and every other Person for the Time being by Law permitted to make a solemn Affirmation or Declaration instead of taking an Oath, may, instead of taking and subscribing the Oath hereby appointed, make and subscribe a solemn Affirmation in the Form of the Oath hereby appointed, substituting...

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