The 113th update to Practice Direction Amendments introduced important changes to the rules on statements of truth. These changes came into force on 6 April 2020.

Certain documents such as statements of case, witness statements and a response complying with an order under rule 18.1 to provide further information, are required to be verified with a statement of truth. The amendments make changes to the wording of the statements of truth at Practice Direction 22 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The form of the statements of truth verifying a statement of case, a response, an application notice or a notice of objections should be as follows:

‘[I believe][the (claimant or as may be) believes] that the facts stated in this [name document being verified] 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 form of the statement of truth verifying a witness statement should be as follows (and provided in the language of the witness statement):

‘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 amendments also introduced 2 additional requirements. Paragraph 2.4 of Practice Direction 22 states that the statement of truth must be in the witness’s own language.  Paragraph 2.5 states that a statement of truth must be dated with the date on which it was signed.

With so much going on and a radical change in the way that we are presently required to work, the changes to the rules could easily be overlooked even by the most prudent of Solicitors. Our Solicitors pride themselves in keeping up to date with changes to the rules and ensure that we do our best to stay a step ahead.

BSG Solicitors have a team of expert dispute resolution Solicitors practicing in a wide range of areas including Personal Injury, claims under the Inheritance Act, Contentious Wills & Probate matters, Debt collection, Landlord Tenant matters and many more. If you require legal assistance, please call our dedicated Solicitors on 01772 253841.

Legal disclaimer

The matters contained herein are intended to be for general information purposes only. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor is it a complete or authoritative statement of the law, and should not be treated as such.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information is correct, no warranty, express or implied, is given as to its accuracy and no liability is accepted for any error or omission. Before acting on any of the information contained herein, expert legal advice should be sought.