Affidavit or Statement?

The Panel of District Judges which answer readers’ questions in the excellent ‘Ask the Judges’ feature in the Law Society Gazette was asked when should affidavits and when should witness statements be used? Their answer was that the CPR introduced the concept of the witness statement, endorsed with the statement of truth, as a more modern and cheaper alternative to the affidavit. On the other hand, foreign jurisdictions or even our own legislation sometimes require the use of affidavits, so they were preserved in the CPR. Examples of where affidavits are required are applications for committal, search orders and freezing injunctions. The judges warned that if an affidavit is used where a witness statement would have sufficed, the additional costs incurred are probably not recoverable either between the parties or from the client (CPR rule 32.15(2)).