What is a Certified Statutory Declaration?
A certified statutory declaration (commonly made under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959) is a statement made by a person that something is true to best of his knowledge. This declaration is to be signed by the individual in presence of notary public, a solicitor or commissioner for oath. It’s a statement made just like a statement made under oath but it is not sworn by the applicant. A certified statutory declaration is sometimes considered as a very useful document when applying for identity documents like that of passport, licences etc.
A person, if wishes to declare something to be true for the purpose of some legal reasons or any legal regulations is supposed to make the statutory declaration. If there are no supporting documents to prove his statement then this document plays an important role to solve the purpose. It is made in front of a justice of peace or a commissioner of oaths.
These declarations should be accurate and completely true so that a solicitor other than the one who acted for you in legal matters will deal with the declaration to make sure that it is valid and is impartial.
Situations where certified statutory declarations are helpful:
- People who want to change their names so that the new name can be used in passports, and driving licences.
- Financial institutions can use them to transfer money to the people legally entitled to deal with the property of a person who has died.
- To declare identity, nationality and marital status in absence of documentary proof.
- For declaring voluntary liquidation of a company by the company directors.
- To confirm the origin and nature of goods for export and import.
- For patent applications it is used to prove the originality of a product or an item.
- To verify insurance claims.
- Also, at times to apply for sick leave at work, these can be used.
Click here for the affidavit statutory declaration in UAE. This form has to be filled and then signed in front of the authorized person/body. They will then counter sign and stamp the same to make it valid. This affidavit statutory declaration can then be used for legal purposes.
Who witnesses the signature and why?
A lawyer witnesses the signature on the legal documents like that of statutory declarations. The lawyer hence confirms that the person signing the document in his presence and verifies the identity by the help of an identity document such as passport or Emirates ID. This witnessing by the lawyer is required by the government bodies, banks and other private bodies to confirm that the person involved has actually signed the document.
The notary public in UAE is also authorized to witness statutory declarations for their authentication in order to avoid potential frauds.
The person who can witness may also be a court official and in certain countries some police officers have also been given the right to witness a statutory declaration.
Validity of a certified statutory declaration
A statutory declaration remains valid until the information mentioned in the declaration stands true. Once the information becomes fallacious, the statutory declaration becomes invalid and is considered redundant.
Fee for a certified statutory declaration
There are no charges for a statutory declaration if the purpose of the visa/passports. The fees, however, may vary depending upon the purpose for which the declaration is being made. If applicable, the fee has to be paid to the solicitor once the document has been signed by them.
Consequences of incorrectly witnessed certified statutory declaration
If by any chance a statutory declaration has been witnessed by a person who is not authorised to do so, then it is considered as invalid. The organization who has witnessed the declaration is to be contacted if there is a doubt on the correct witnessing of statutory declaration. However, if there is a case wherein an authorised witness has falsely witnessed the same a statutory declaration then the organisation or the peak body of the organization has to be contacted or even the police department can be approached for this.
What happens if a statement written on a certified statutory declaration is false?
When a statutory declaration is made, it is being declared that the statements written on it are true. However, if intentionally the statement has been made wrong by the individual, he/she could be charged with an offence and if found guilty they could be jailed or fined for the same. Making a false statement on statutory declaration is considered as a crime and hence this should be avoided at all costs.
At Notary Public Dubai have well qualified lawyers and well-trained staff to take care of the notarization process of the statutory declarations and can help you ease out the process of notarization.
