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About Affidavits

Commonly used legal words relating to affidavits

Word	Meaning
Oath	A verbal promise to tell the truth. Oaths are made whilst holding the Bible, the Koran or any other holy book.
Affirmation	A formal verbal declaration (promise) with the same effect as an oath. For a person who objects for whatever reasons to swearing an oath, this verbal promise is made in place of an oath and does not require the use of a bible.
Authorised Person	Any person who is able to witness affidavits as defined by the Evidence Act 1958.
Deponent	A person who is swearing or affirming the affidavit and whose signature appears beside the jurat.
Exhibits	Documents referred to in an affidavit which are to be produced separately from it to the authorised person and are distinguished by letters or numbers in sequence, for example JM1, JM2, JM3 etc.
Jurat	A certificate at the end of an affidavit which states when and where the affidavit was sworn or affirmed and by whom followed by the signature, address and title of the person the affidavit was sworn or affirmed in front of.
Statutory Declarations	A Statutory Declaration is a less formal document and cannot be used in place of an affidavit in Supreme Court proceedings.

General information

An affidavit may be typed or handwritten, as long as it is clear and easy to read. An affidavit is sworn (with an oath appropriate to the person's religion) or affirmed as to the truth, in front of an authorised witness. Affidavits are filed at the Supreme Court Registry or the Court of Appeal Registry, and copies must be given to (served on) the other party or parties involved in the hearing. Sometimes affidavits may be filed in court at a hearing.

The length of an affidavit may vary and depends on the complexity of the issue with which the affidavit is concerned. Although it is important to include in an affidavit all relevant facts relating to the particular issue of concern, it is equally important to try and leave out things that are not relevant to that particular issue and which the court does not need to decide upon.

Affidavits are important documents and require thoughtful preparation. Although they may be prepared by the deponent himself or herself, it is useful to seek legal advice in this regard. If the affidavit contains material that is inadmissible (not allowed to be heard by the court) or irrelevant (not related to the issue to be decided), the paragraphs containing that material may be struck out by the court (that is, the facts contained within those paragraphs cannot be used or relied upon in evidence). In some cases the whole affidavit may be struck out if all the material contained in the affidavit is found by the court to be irrelevant or inadmissible.