A High Court judge has said the oath “still has a powerful role in bringing out the truth” and that while scrapping it “makes academic sense”, it “would materially increase the amount of false evidence in practice”. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys said “would that it were not so but it would be wishful thinking to ignore the reality” . Affirmation arises only if the oath is contrary to a witness’ religious beliefs or they have no religious beliefs. Taking evidence without an oath or affirmation should only be in the limited circumstances set out in the IPAT chairperson’s guidelines, he added. SecularisationThe Covid-19 emergency has necessitated remote hearings involving alternatives to the oath or affirmation, in particular a “statement of truth”, he said.

Source: The Irish Times September 22, 2020 17:37 UTC