The President of the Family Division has published new rules on Witness Statements including the following principles :


1. Witness statements tell the parties and the court what evidence a party intends to rely on at a final hearing. Their use has the key added benefit of promoting the overriding objective by helping the court to deal with cases justly and proportionately, including by helping to put parties on an equal footing, saving time at the final hearing and promoting settlement in advance of the final hearing.

2. Witness statements must only contain evidence from the maker of the statement.

3. The statement must be expressed in the first person using the witness’s own words (PD 22A para 4.1).

4. A witness statement must not:
a. quote at any length from any document;
b. seek to argue the case;
c. take the court through the documents in the case;
d. set out a narrative derived from the documents;
e. express the opinions of the witness; or
f. use rhetoric.

5. A witness statement may only set out matters of fact and matters of information and belief (para 4.3). Matters of fact include past facts (i.e. events which have happened) and future facts (i.e. events which are expected to happen). A statement may state only those matters of fact of which the witness has personal knowledge and which are relevant to the case (para 4.3(a)).

6. The statement must indicate the source of any matters of information and belief (para 4.3(b)). Evidence about proposed child arrangements or, in a financial remedy case, about needs, will be matters of information and belief. Therefore, where such evidence of such information and belief is given, the source or basis for that belief must be stated.