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Civil Litigation Solicitors

Statement of Truth: New Mandatory Requirements from April 2020 (1 April 2020)

Date: 01/04/2020
Duncan Lewis, Civil Litigation Solicitors, Statement of Truth: New Mandatory Requirements from April 2020

The 113th update to the Practice Directions (to the Civil Procedure Rules) which comes into force 06 April 2020, has many important changes/updates. This article looks at the changes to Practice Direction 22 – Statements of Truth.


New Amendments

Here are the proposed amendments:

  1. In paragraph 2.1, in the wording of the statement of truth, at the end insert “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.”

  2. In paragraph 2.2—
    a) after “as follows” insert “(and provided in the language of the witness statement)”; and

    b) in the wording of the statement of truth, at the end insert “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.”

  3. After paragraph 2.3 insert –

    a. 2.4 The statement of truth must be in the witness’s own language.

    b. 2.5 A statement of truth must be dated with the date on which it was signed.



Amendments Incorporated into the Existing Rules

Here are the existing rules, with the amendments in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 shown in bold:

2.1 The form of the statement 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.”

2.2 The form of the statement of truth verifying a witness statement should 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.”


Why the Changes?

The changes appear to be incorporated to prevent outcomes whereby signatories claim to not understand the implications of signing a statement of truth dishonestly. This is further reinforced by ensuring that the statement of truth is in the writer’s language.


Author is solicitor Shareen Tanvir in the Duncan Lewis Civil Litigation department and has experience in a broad range of matters including: professional negligence; breach of contract; debt recovery and financial mis-selling claims.

If you have any questions or queries please contact Shareen on 020 3114 1338 or at shareent@duncanlewis.com



Duncan Lewis Civil and Commercial Litigation Solicitors

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