Despite various amendments over the years, many thought the wording of Part 81 was unsatisfactory, repetitive, and unnecessarily complicated. Following a consultation exercise by the Civil Procedure Rules Committee from March-May 2020, the committee proposed a new approach to Part 81 which: I understand that the purpose of this witness statement is to set out matters of fact of which I have personal knowledge. Where the court strikes out proceedings, or any part of them, under this rule, it may subsequently restore the proceedings, or that part. a) “hearing” means the occasion on which any interim or final decision is or may be made by a judge, at which a person is, or has the right be, heard in person, by telephone, by video or by any other means which permits simultaneous communication; and b) his application notice, if the statement of case or application notice is verified by a statement of truth.

Mr Correia is a Portuguese national who speaks Portuguese. His witness statement, however, had been drafted entirely in English and bore a Statement of Truth written in English. The statement contained the following:

On 6 April 2021, a new Practice Direction 57AC ("PD57AC") was introduced to clarify the rules on the preparation of trial witness statements for use in the Business and Property Courts.

Both within family and civil cases, there is a requirement on the party seeking to adduce the evidence of anyone not in the court’s jurisdiction to make enquiries of the foreign state where the witness is located to ascertain whether that foreign state objects to evidence being given orally to a tribunal in the UK, from within its territory. The party seeking to adduce such evidence should also make an application to the court, ahead of the hearing, for that witness’ evidence to be received by way of video conferencing. N205A Notice by court to claimant of issue and service of Part 7 claim form (specified amount of money)

PF 7B Request for service of document on a State (rule 6.44) (to be filed in the Central Office of the Royal Courts of Justice)The court may allow a party to amend or withdraw any admission made by him on such terms as it thinks just. The jurat of an affidavit is a statement set out at the end of the document which authenticates the affidavit. a trial witness statement should be based upon a record or notes made by the relevant party’s legal representatives of evidence they obtained from the witness, Rule 32.2(1)(a) provides that in general any fact which needs to be proved at trial by the evidence of witnesses is to be proved by their oral evidence given in public, and rule 32.4(1) defines a witness statement as a signed statement containing the evidence the witness would be allowed to give orally.)