a. Taking oath before giving evidence

It is a pre-condition for the oral testimony of a witness to be admissible that the witness must first be sworn to speak the truth. The oath must be sworn in open court. The person taking the oath is required to hold the New Testament, or in the case of a Jew, the Old Testament.

If a person has no religion or is of a religion which prevents an oath from being binding on his conscience, Section 7(1) of the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap. 11) allows him or her to make an affirmation instead of taking an oath.