New South Wales Consolidated Acts

OATHS ACT 1900 - SECT 11A

11A Manner of taking oath

(1) Any person taking any oath on the Bible or on the New Testament, or the Old Testament, for any purpose whatsoever, whether in judicial proceedings or otherwise, shall, if physically capable of doing so, hold a copy of the Bible or Testament in his or her hand, but it shall not be necessary for the person to kiss such copy by way of assent.

(2) The officer administering the oath may repeat the appropriate form of adjuration, and the person taking the oath shall thereupon, while holding in his or her hand a copy of the Bible, New Testament, or Old Testament, indicate his or her assent to the oath so administered by uttering the words “So help me, God”; or

(3) The person taking the oath may, while holding in his or her hand a copy of the Bible, New Testament, or Old Testament, repeat the words of the oath as prescribed or allowed by law.

(4) In all judicial proceedings the officer administering the oath shall, unless the person about to take the oath voluntarily objects thereto, administer the oath in the form and manner set out in subsection (2); but no oath shall be deemed illegal or invalid by reason of any breach of the provisions of this section.

(5) Provided that any witness in any judicial proceeding may swear with up-lifted hand in the following manner and form:

The witness with uplifted hand says-“I swear by Almighty God as I shall answer to God at the Great Day of Judgment that I will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

(6) Provided also that:

(a) an oath may be administered and taken in any form and in any manner which would have been lawful if this section had not passed,

(b) every oath shall be binding for all purposes for which it is administered and may be taken in any form and in any manner which the person taking the same declares to be binding,

(c) where an oath has been administered and taken, the fact that the person taking the same had at the time no religious belief shall not for any purpose affect the legality or validity of the oath.