Topic 1 Affidavit

affidavit
[ˌafəˈdāvit] NOUN
law
affidavit (noun) · affidavits (plural noun)

1. a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use

as evidence in court.

"a former employee swore an affidavit relating to his claim for

unfair dismissal"

synonyms:

testimony · statement · sworn
statement · attestation · declaration · avowal · plea · submission 
· claim · contention · charge · allegation · deposition · represent
ation · asseveration · averment

ORIGIN
mid 16th century: from medieval Latin, literally ‘he has stated on oath’,
from affidare.

An affidavit is typically defined as a written declaration or statement

that is sworn or affirmed before a person who has authority to
administer an oath. There is no general defined form for an affidavit,
although for some proceedings an affidavit must satisfy legal or
statutory requirements in order to be considered.[1] An affidavit may
include,

 a commencement which identifies the affiant;

  an attestation clause, usually a jurat, at the end certifying that
the affiant made the statement under oath on the specified
date;
 signatures of the affiant and person who administered the
oath.

In some cases, an introductory clause, called a preamble, is added

attesting that the affiant personally appeared before the
authenticating authority. An affidavit may also recite that the
statement it records was made under penalty of perjury.

An affidavit that is prepared for use within the context of litigation

may also include a caption that identifies the venue and parties to the
relevant judicial proceedings.