A statutory declaration is a legal document defined under the law of certain Commonwealth nations and in the United States. It is similar to a statement made under

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

, but it is not sworn. Statutory declarations are commonly used to allow a person to declare something to be true for the purposes of satisfying some legal requirement or regulation when no other evidence is available. They are thus similar to affidavits, which, however, are made on oath. Depending on jurisdiction, statutory declarations can be used for: *Declarations of identity, nationality, marital status, etc. when documentary evidence is unavailable. *Declaring the intention to change one's name. *Affirming the provenance and nature of goods for export or import. *Statements of originality for

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

applications.

Australia

Australian law defines a statutory declaration as a written statement declared to be true in the presence of an authorised witness. The ''Statutory Declarations Act 1959'' governs the use of statutory declarations in matters involving the law of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n Commonwealth,

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

, and other territories but not including the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. Any person within the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

of this law may make a statutory declaration in relation to any matter. The declaration may be used in connection with matters of law, including judicial proceedings, but what weight is given to the declaration is a matter for the

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

to decide. Statutory declarations must be made in a prescribed form and witnessed by a person as specified in the ''Statutory Declarations Regulations 2023''. Prescribed witnesses include people on the roll of the High Court or the Supreme Court of a State or Territory, legal or medical practitioners, justices of the peace, notaries public, police officers, military officers, registered members of certain professional organisations (e.g. National Tax Accountant's Association or Engineers Australia), and certain other Commonwealth employees. Intentionally making a false statement as a statutory declaration is a crime equivalent to perjury, and punishable by fines and/or a prison sentence of up to four years. The

states and territories of Australia The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

each have their own laws regarding statutory declarations.

Canada

In Canadian jurisdictions, statutory declarations are statements of facts written down and attested to by the declarant before individuals who are authorized to administer

s except that they are normally used outside of court settings. They have the same effect in law as a sworn statement or affidavit. In federal proceedings, the form is governed by the '' Canada Evidence Act''. Similar provision is made by the various provinces for use in proceedings within their respective jurisdictions. A person who makes a false declaration can be charged with perjury under the

Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

United States

Although the terminology statutory declaration is not used frequently in the United States, unsworn declarations may invoke a statute that makes such a declaration the functional equivalent of a sworn affidavit.

United Kingdom

Statutory declarations can be used as a method of legally changing one's name. They may be used by UK financial institutions to enable an asset of a relatively small value (usually less than £15,000) to be transferred to the executors of a will or other persons legally entitled to deal with or benefit from the estate of a person who has died.

England and Wales

Under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 62), a declaration can be made before anyone who is authorised by law to hear it (for example, a solicitor or legal executive), or before any justice of the peace. In addition, officers of the armed services with the equivalent rank of major and above, and British diplomatic and consular officers in post abroad, may authenticate a statutory declaration. The person who hears the declaration need not enquire into the truth of it. That person's function is limited to hearing the declaration, and certifying that he or she has done so by signing it. If the declaration turns out to be untrue, the defendant making it may be punished for perjury. The form of the statutory declaration is prescribed in the schedule to the Act:

"I (full name), do solemnly and sincerely declare that the contents of this declaration are true. And I make this declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835."

A standard form is used for a statutory declaration; one copy will be given to the applicant and the other is held on file.Statutory Declaration Form
as laid down by the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, section 14 and ''Criminal Procedure Rules'', rule 37.11.

References

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External links

Statutory Declarations – Australian Attorney-General's DepartmentStatutory Declarations Act 1959 (Australia)Statutory Declarations Regulations 1993 (Australia)
Law of Australia Evidence law Legal documents Oaths Notary