Statement of evidence or Witness statement

The purpose of a statement of evidence or witness statement is to provide relevant facts. It should provide the judge with the facts that are relevant to your case and an explanation of why they are relevant to the issues in the case.

Where facts have been raised by the other party, it is advisable that you address these and respond to them in a factual way.

Your statement can have other documentary evidence attached to it (called ‘exhibits’) to support the facts or your position.

If you have been asked to prepare a statement of evidence or witness statement you may use this downloadable template to help with formatting and structure.

• When should you write a statement of evidence/ witness statement?

  The judge will tell you the date you need to submit it to the court (‘file’) and send (‘serve’) to the other party. The judge may direct or order both parties to file and serve statements of evidence by the same date or they can ask one party to file and serve their statement first (usually the applicant) and the other party to consider the statement and then file their own statement in reply.

• How to write a statement of evidence/ witness statement?

  A statement of evidence/witness statement needs to comply with the procedural rules. It should take the prescribed form given under the Rules:

  for Family Proceedings Court, Form C46 in Schedule of Rules

  and

  for Family Care Centre, Rule 4.18 of Rules.

  A written statement should be dated, signed by the person making the statement, identify the name of the person making the statement and include the statement number.

  A written statement should be brief and the content should be:

  • Child-focused - be clear and reasoned about the child arrangements you are asking for;
  • Easy to understand - write clearly so that your meaning is easily understood;
  • True and accurate - it is vital that the statement is truthful to the facts and deals with all the facts in the case. The maker of the witness statement must ‘verify’ it with a ‘Statement of Truth’;
  • Written in a factual way using appropriate language - avoid opinion, speculation and guess work; and avoid aggressive, confrontational, accusatory and emotional language. If you think that something said previously is not correct, refer to it as ‘untrue’ and not as ‘lies’;
  • In chronological order - if you have prepared a timeline, it will be helpful to have this to hand as you prepare your witness statements. Include only the main events.
• Contents of a statement of evidence/ witness statement

  Title of proceedings including case number, court, parties’ names, child’s name and date of birth.

  Provide a relevant history of the background of the case and the Orders being applied for.

  State what you want the judge to do, including, for example, the contact that you are asking the judge to grant.

  Outline the current situation: for example, contact arrangements, any serious allegations that have been made against you, and any concerns you may have. Wherever possible include any evidence to support your stated concerns as attachments (called ‘exhibits’) with an index at the end of the statement. Look at the Welfare Checklist – see Welfare Checklist - in relation to your proposals and your reasons for asking the judge to grant them.

  You may want to state whether you agree with the other party’s views based on the child’s welfare and needs.

  Sign and date each page of your witness statement and any attachments.

  Include Statement of Truth at the end of your witness statement. Failure to include a Statement of Truth within your statement could lead to it being rejected by the judge.

• Submitting a statement of evidence/ witness statement

  You should submit (‘file’) your statement to the court.

  You should send a copy to the other parties in the case. If they have legal representation then you should send it to their legal representative.

  If you email the document, ask the other party to confirm that they have received it.

  If you send it by post, you may want to obtain proof of postage.

  If you hand deliver the document to the other party, you may want to obtain a receipt.

  You should also send it to any relevant welfare officers, in accordance with the judge’s instructions.

  If you are unsure of the judge’s directions you should contact the court office, by email in the first instance, cite the case number and ask them to clarify the judge’s directions – see NICTS contact details or Court office emails.