An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant or deponent) and witnessed (as to the veracity of the affiant's signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. An oath (from Anglo-Saxon āð, also called plight) is either a Promise or a Statement of Fact calling A signature (from Latin signare, " Sign " is a handwritten (and sometimes stylized depiction of someone's name nickname or even a simple A notary public is an officer who can administer Oaths and Statutory Declarations Witness and authenticate documents The name is Medieval Latin for he has declared upon oath. Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the Liturgical language of the medieval
Uses of affidavits include:
- To allow evidence to be gathered from witnesses or participants who may not be available to testify in person before the court, or who may otherwise fear for their safety if their true identities are revealed in court.
- To obtain a declaration on a legal document, such as an application for voter registration, that the information provided by the applicant is truthful to the best of the applicant's knowledge. Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for Citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed If, after signing such a declaration, the information is found to be deliberately untrue with the intent to deceive, the applicant may face perjury charges. Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under Oath or Affirmation in a
United States
In American jurisprudence, under the rules for hearsay, admission of an unsupported affidavit as evidence is unusual (especially if the affiant is not available for cross-examination) with regard to material facts which may be dispositive of the matter at bar. Jurisprudence is the Theory and Philosophy of Law. Scholars of jurisprudence or legal philosophers hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature Hearsay is the legal term that describes statements made outside of court or other judicial proceedings See Structure of policy debate for cross-examination in Policy debate. Affidavits from persons who are dead or otherwise incapacitated, or who cannot be located or made to appear may be accepted by the court, but usually only in the presence of corroborating evidence. Corroborating evidence is evidence that tends to support a proposition that is already supported by some evidence An affidavit which reflected a better grasp of the facts close in time to the actual events may be used to refresh a witness' recollection. Materials used to refresh recollection are admissible as evidence. If the affiant is a party in the case, the affiant's opponent may be successful in having the affidavit admitted as evidence, as statements by a party-opponent are not considered hearsay.
Some types of motions will not be accepted by the court unless accompanied by an independent sworn statement or other evidence, in support of the need for the motion. In such a case, a court will accept an affidavit from the filing attorney in support of the motion, as certain assumptions are made, to wit: The affidavit in place of sworn testimony promotes judicial economy. Judicial economy most commonly refers to the refusal of a court to decide one or more claims raised in a case on the grounds that it has decided other claims in the case and that its decision The lawyer is an officer of the court and knows that a false swearing by him, if found out, could be grounds for severe penalty up to and including disbarment. The generic term officer of the court applies to all those who in some degree in function of their professional or similar qualifications have a legal part—and hence legal and Disbarment is a revocation of a Lawyer 's ability to practice Law or argue cases. The lawyer if called upon would be able to present independent and more detailed evidence to prove the facts set forth in his affidavit.
The acceptance of an affidavit by one society does not confirm its acceptance as a legal document in other jurisdictions. Equally, the acceptance that a lawyer is an officer of the court (for swearing the affidavit)is not a given. This matter is addressed by the use of the Apostille, a means of certifying the legalization of a document for international use under the terms of the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Documents which have been notarized by a notary public, and certain other documents, and then certified with a conformant apostille are accepted for legal use in all the nations that have signed the Hague Convention. Thus most Affidavits now require to be Apostilled if used for cross border issues.
Republic of Ireland
Affidavits are made in a similar way as to England and Wales, although "make oath" is sometimes omitted. A declaration may be substituted for an affidavit in most cases for those opposed to swearing oaths. The person making the affidavit is known as the deponent but does not sign the affidavit. The affidavit concludes in the standard format "sworn (declared) before me, [name of commissioner for oaths/solicitor], a commissioner for oaths (solicitor), on the [date] at [location] in the county/city of [county/city], and I know the deponent (declarant)", and it is signed and stamped by the commissioner for oaths.
See also
A statutory declaration is a legal document defined under the law of certain Commonwealth nations In Law, a deposition is witness testimony given under oath and recorded for use in court at a later dateDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic