Witness Statement (England & Wales)

A witness statement in civil proceedings in England and Wales must comply with the detailed requirements set out in CPR Part 32 and Practice Direction 32. Under PD 32 paragraph 17.1, the statement must be headed with the title of the proceedings and must state the witness's full name, address, and occupation. Under PD 32 paragraph 17.2, the statement must indicate which party it is being served on behalf of. Under PD 32 paragraph 18.1, the statement must, so far as possible, be in the witness's own words; it must be expressed in the first person; and it must set out the evidence the witness would be allowed to give orally. Under PD 32 paragraph 18.2, the statement must indicate which of the matters stated are within the witness's own knowledge, and which are matters of information and belief — and in the latter case, the source of that information or belief must be stated. Under PD 32 paragraph 19.1, the statement must be signed by the maker and must be dated. Under CPR Part 32.4(3), where a party intends to rely on more than one witness statement from the same witness, each statement must be identified by a consecutive number. The statement must be verified by a statement of truth in the precise form prescribed by CPR Part 22 and Practice Direction 22. Failure to comply with these requirements may render the statement inadmissible or expose the party to adverse costs consequences.

A statement of truth is a formal declaration prescribed by CPR Part 22 and Practice Direction 22 that verifies the contents of a witness statement (or other court document). For a witness statement, the precise wording required by Practice Direction 22 paragraph 2.1 is: '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.' This wording is mandatory and cannot be altered. The statement of truth does not require witnessing, notarisation, or authentication by a solicitor — it is signed by the witness themselves. The legal consequences of signing a false statement of truth are severe. Under CPR Part 32.14, the court may treat a false statement of truth as contempt of court under the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Contempt of court proceedings may result in a fine or, in serious cases, imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years under s.14 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. Where the false statement was made with the connivance of a legal representative, that representative may also be held in contempt. The court has confirmed in cases such as Kirk v Walton [2008] EWHC 1780 (QB) that false statements of truth represent a serious interference with the administration of justice. It is therefore essential that a witness reads and understands the statement in full before signing.

Hearsay evidence — that is, evidence of what someone other than the witness said, whether orally or in writing — is admissible in civil proceedings in England and Wales under the Civil Evidence Act 1995. Section 1 of that Act abolishes the common law rule against hearsay in civil proceedings, and s.2 requires a party proposing to adduce hearsay evidence in a witness statement to give advance notice to the other parties. Under CPR Part 33.2, a party wishing to rely on hearsay evidence must serve a hearsay notice on the other parties, identifying the evidence and stating that the party proposes to rely on it. The notice must be served no later than the time for serving witness statements or, if the evidence is in a witness statement itself, at the same time as that statement is served. Failure to give proper notice does not make the evidence inadmissible, but the court may take the failure into account when deciding what weight to give the evidence and when exercising its discretion on costs under CPR Part 33.5. Where a witness statement contains hearsay evidence, PD 32 paragraph 18.2 requires the witness to state that those matters are based on information and belief and to identify the source of that information. This ensures the court can assess the weight to be given to the hearsay evidence in light of the source and circumstances in which it was received.

In multi-track cases, the court's directions order — made either at the case management conference or when giving standard directions — will specify a date by which witness statements must be simultaneously exchanged between all parties. Under CPR Part 32.4(2), unless the court otherwise orders, witness statements are exchanged simultaneously rather than served sequentially, so that neither party is advantaged by seeing the other's evidence first. In fast-track cases, the standard timetable under CPR Part 28 typically provides for witness statements to be exchanged four to six weeks before the trial. Failure to serve a witness statement by the due date may result in the evidence being excluded at trial. At trial, under CPR Part 32.5, a witness whose statement has been served must attend trial to give evidence; if the witness is not called, their witness statement is not received into evidence. Where a witness attends, their witness statement stands as their evidence in chief — they are not required to repeat the contents orally. The witness is then made available for cross-examination. Under CPR Part 32.7, where a witness is not called, the witness statement may be put in evidence with the court's permission, but the other party may then make comment on the failure to call the witness and the court may draw adverse inferences.

Documents exhibited to a witness statement must comply with the requirements of Practice Direction 32, paragraphs 18.3 to 18.6. Under PD 32 paragraph 18.3, an exhibit used in conjunction with a witness statement should be verified and identified by the witness, and should be referred to in the witness statement using the exhibit reference (for example, 'I refer to the email dated 15 January 2024, a copy of which is exhibited to this statement and marked 'SP1''). The exhibit reference mark is formed by using the witness's initials followed by a sequential number, so a witness named Sarah Pemberton would mark exhibits SP1, SP2, SP3, and so on. Under PD 32 paragraph 18.4, the exhibit must contain a front page showing the exhibit reference mark, the title of the proceedings, the witness's name, and the date on which the exhibit was prepared. Under PD 32 paragraph 18.5, the exhibit must be paginated consecutively from the first page, separate from the pagination of the witness statement itself. Under PD 32 paragraph 18.6, where a witness statement refers to a document, the original document (or a legible copy) should be exhibited, not merely described. Solicitors should note that they are responsible for ensuring that exhibits comply with the Practice Direction requirements; courts may refuse to read non-compliant bundles or may impose costs sanctions under CPR Part 44.

Both witness statements and affidavits are written statements of evidence used in civil proceedings in England and Wales, but they differ in their formalities, their use cases, and their evidentiary status. A witness statement, governed by CPR Part 32 and Practice Direction 32, is the standard form of written evidence in modern civil litigation. It is verified by a statement of truth under CPR Part 22 and does not require swearing on oath before an authorised person. It is used in almost all civil proceedings before the County Court and High Court. An affidavit, by contrast, is a sworn statement — the deponent swears or affirms the truth of the contents before a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or other authorised person under the Oaths Act 1978. The administering officer must sign the jurat (the certification clause at the end of the affidavit), which identifies the officer and states when and where the oath was taken. Under CPR Part 32.15, affidavits may only be used as evidence where required by the court, a rule, a Practice Direction, or an enactment — for most routine civil litigation, the witness statement has entirely superseded the affidavit. Affidavits are still required for certain applications, including search orders (formerly Anton Piller orders), freezing injunctions (Mareva injunctions), and some family proceedings. An affidavit sworn before an English solicitor may also be used in foreign proceedings, subject to legalisation or apostille requirements.