20222023 lpc dispute resolution ws10 and seminar 10 high distinction 95 comprehensive exam notes
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LPC - Legal Practice Course
LPC - Legal Practice Course
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1. Witness Statements
Civil Litigation, Chapter 12
A witness statement is a document in which the evidence of a person is recorded. It will record what that
person saw, heard, or felt, and is signed by that person to confirm that its contents are true to the best of
that person’s knowledge or belief.
Witness statements are subject to rules as to their form (set out in Practice Direction 32), as well as their
content (set out by the Common Law and statute).
Form of Witness Statement1 2 3
Civil Litigation, 12.3
Practice Direction (PD) 32
Headnote The Witness Statement should be headed the same as any other court document.
“The witness statement should be headed with the title of the proceedings (see
(PD 32, para paragraph 4 of Practice Direction 7A and paragraph 7 of Practice Direction 20)” (para
17.1) 17.1).
I.e., it should follow the following template:
Top Right The top right corner should state:
Corner The party on whose behalf the statement is filed (i.e., Claimant/Defendant).
The initials and surname of the witness (e.g., ML Banister).
(PD32, Para The number of the statement (e.g., “First” if the statement is the witnesses’ first
17.2) witness statement).
Identifying initials and number of any exhibits referred to (e.g., MLB1).
Date the statement was made.
Date of any translation (where applicable).
Formality A witness statement should:
1
Template witness statements can be found at Appendices B(10) and D(11) of Civil Litigation. An exemplar witness statement will
also be provided in Workshop 11 (a copy of which is reproduced in this guide).
2
Workshop 10, Task 2
3
Workshop 11, Prep Task
,Requirement Be divided into numbered paragraphs (Para 19.1(5)).
s Have all numbers, including dates, expressed in figures (Para 19.1(6)).
E.g., 10 August 2022 not 10/08/2022
(PD32, Para £5,000,000 not (£5 million).
19.1-19.2; Be drafted in the witnesses’ own language (Para 19.1(7)).
23.1) Normally be in chronological order and (Para 19.2)
Each paragraph should, as far as possible, be confined to a distinct portion of
the subject (Para 19.2)
If translated, the translator must certify this as accurate and the original version
must be filed (Para 23.1).
Body of the The statement must:
Witness If practicable, be in It is the witnesses’ recount of the evidence, not a vehicle for
Statement the witnesses’ complex legal arguments which the witness would not be
own words (Para readily able to speak about if cross-examined (Alex Lawrie
(PD 32, Para 18.1) Factors Ltd v Morgan, Morgan and Turner (1999), The Times 18
18.1-18.2) August).
Be in the first I.e., “I recall; I saw etc.”
person (Para 18.1)
State (Para The FULL NAME of the witness;
18.1(1)-(5)): Do not forget the witnesses’ middle name.
His place of residence;
Or, if he is making the statement in a professional
capacity:
The address at which he works.
The position he holds.
The name of his firm/employer.
His occupation;
Or, if he has none, his description (e.g. retired,
unemployed, student etc.)).
E.g., “I run a cycle tourism company in the French Alps; “I
am a retired accountant”.
The process by which the statement has been prepared; (i.e.,
face-to-face, over the phone etc.).
State the source of The statement must indicate which of the statements in it are
the Witnesses’ made from the witness’s own knowledge and which are
Information or matters of information or belief and the source of his
Belief (Para 18.2): information and belief.
E.g., “The facts and matters set out in this statement are within
my own knowledge unless otherwise stated, and I believe them
to be true. Where I refer to information supplied by others, the
source of the information is identified; facts and matters derived
from other sources are true to the best of my knowledge and
belief”.
, Exhibits Should be verified and identified by the witness and remain separate from the witness
statement (Para 18.3).
(PD 32, Para ‘I refer to the [picture of X/balance sheet etc.] marked…’.
18.3)
Statement of Must be signed by the witness, not the legal representative.
Truth If the witness fails to verify the statement by a statement of truth, the court may direct
that the statement shall not be admissible (CPR Rule 22.3)
(PD 32, Para Where a witness statement does not comply with Part 32 or PD 32 in relation to its
20.2) form (e.g., if there is a wrongly worded statement of truth), the court may refuse to
admit it as evidence (Para 25.1).
Wording (Para 20.2): “I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I
understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who
makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement
of truth without an honest belief in its truth”.
Requirements of Witness Evidence
CONTENT OF Witness evidence:
WITNESS MUST be “Any evidence, to be admissible, must be relevant. Contested trials last
4
EVIDENCE Relevant long enough as it is without spending time on evidence which is
irrelevant and cannot affect the outcome. Relevance must, and can
Civil only, be judged by reference to the issue which the court… is called
Litigation, upon to decide” – Lord Bingham (O'Brien v Chief Constable of South
12.1.1 Wales Police [2005] UKHL 26).
MUST NOT Generally, opinion evidence will be inadmissible.
be Opinion E.g., a witness statement which included comments on an expert’s
findings was disallowed in Harlow v Aspect Contracts Ltd [2020] EWHC
Civil 1488 (TCC).
Litigation, This is because the function of a witness is to relay facts; it is then for
12.8 the court to draw its own conclusions from these facts.
So, statements such as, “he was a chancer” would be inadmissible. It is
for the court to draw that conclusion.
Subject to THREE exceptions:
“Personal s3(2) Civil Evidence Act 1972
Perception of It is admissible to give evidence which amounts
Facts” to a ‘personal perception of facts’.
E.g., speed; if the witness states the vehicle was
Civil Litigation, driving at “about 60 mph”, this is only an opinion,
12.8.1 but it is a perception of a fact and so may be
admissible.
Expert Evidence s3(1) Civil Evidence Act 1972
A witnesses’ opinion “on any relevant matter on
Civil Litigation, which he is qualified to give expert evidence shall
12.13 be admissible in evidence”.
4
Workshop 10, Task 3
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