Part 2Jurisdiction, procedures, and powers
Procedures
47Administration of oaths
An oath in the prescribed form must be administered to—
- every military member:
- every officer under instruction in the Court Martial:
- every person responsible for recording or transcribing the proceedings in the court:
- every interpreter attending the court.
Every witness before the court must be examined on oath administered in the prescribed form.
If the court considers that a child who is called as a witness does not understand the nature of an oath, the child's evidence may be received even though it is not given on oath, so long as the court is of the opinion that the child—
- has sufficient intelligence to justify the reception of the evidence; and
- understands the duty of speaking the truth.
If any person referred to in subsection (1) or (2) objects to being sworn, or it is not reasonably practicable to administer an oath to that person in a manner appropriate to his or her religious belief, the person may be permitted to make a solemn affirmation instead of swearing an oath.
The making of an affirmation under subsection (4) has the same force and effect and has the same consequences as the taking of an oath.
Every oath or affirmation required to be administered under this Act must be administered in accordance with the rules of procedure.