Juries Act, 1927

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Administration of oath to jurors.

53.—(1) In every trial in which the issue or one of the issues is whether a person is or is not guilty of a crime for which the penalty is death, the jurors shall be sworn individually one by one, and in every other trial the jury shall be sworn collectively, that is to say, all the jurors or such number of jurors as may be convenient shall be sworn at the one time, save that any juror who expresses a desire to be sworn individually and any juror who is to be sworn otherwise than in the ordinary manner shall be sworn separately and individually, the other jurors being sworn collectively as aforesaid.

(2) The ordinary manner of administering the oath shall be as follows:—

The juror or every of the jurors to be sworn shall hold the Testament in his uplifted hand and the registrar shall say to such juror or jurors the words “I swear by Almighty God that _______” followed by the appropriate form of oath prescribed by this Act and such juror or jurors shall repeat after the registrar the words so spoken by him.

(3) The Oaths Act, 1888, and also every Act for the time being in force authorising an oath to be taken in a court of justice in any particular manner shall apply to the oaths required by this Act to be taken by jurors.

(4) A juror who states that he has a religious belief but that he is neither a Christian nor a Jew may, if the Judge so permits, be sworn in any manner which he states to be binding on him.

(5) The oath shall be administered to every juror in the ordinary manner without question unless the juror appears to be physically incapable of taking the oath in that manner or voluntarily objects to take the oath in that manner and satisfies the Judge that he is by virtue of this section entitled to take the oath in some other manner.