Statutory Instruments
EVIDENCE
Made
28th November 1962
At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 28th day of November 1962
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Whereas Her Majesty in Council is satisfied upon consideration of a report from the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations that, having regard to the law of Sierra Leone as to the recognition therein of public registers of the United Kingdom as authentic records and as to the proof of the contents of such registers and other matters by means of duly authenticated certificates issued by public officers in the United Kingdom, it is desirable in the interests of reciprocity to make with respect to public registers of Sierra Leone and certificates issued by public officers in or in respect of Sierra Leone such provision as is hereinafter mentioned:
Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue and in the exercise of the powers conferred on Her by the Evidence (Foreign, Dominion and Colonial Documents) Act 1933 and all other powers in that behalf in Her vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:
1. The registers of Sierra Leone specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Order shall be deemed to be public registers kept under the authority of the law of Sierra Leone and recognised by the courts thereof as authentic records and to be documents of such a public nature as to be admissible as evidence of the matters regularly recorded therein.
2. For the purposes of the preceding Article all matters recorded in the register shall be deemed, until the contrary is proved, to be regularly recorded.
3. Subject to any requirements of rules of court, a document which purports to be issued in Sierra Leone as an official copy of an entry in a register specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Order and which purports to be authenticated in the manner specified in the third column of the Schedule by an officer of Sierra Leone specified in the second column thereof shall, without evidence as to the custody of the register or of inability to produce it and without any further or other proof, be received as evidence that the register contains such an entry.
4. Nothing in this Order shall be taken to prohibit or restrict the admission in evidence of any copy, extract, summary, certificate or other document whatsoever which, apart from the provisions of this Order, would be admissible as evidence of any particular matter, or to affect any power which, otherwise than by virtue of this Order, is exercisable by any court with respect to the admission of documents in evidence.
5.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Evidence (Sierra Leone) Order 1962.
(2) This Order extends to all parts of the United Kingdom.
W. G. Agnew
| Register | Certifying Officer | Mode of Authentication |
|---|---|---|
| Register of Births | The Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths, a Registrar of Births and Deaths or a Deputy Registrar of Births and Deaths. | The seal and signature of the certifying officer. |
| Register of Christian Marriages | The Registrar-General, the Deputy Registrar-General or a Minister of Religion. | The signature of the certifying officer. |
| Register of Civil Marriages | The Registrar-General or the Deputy Registrar-General. | The signature of the certifying officer. |
| Register of Mohammedan Marriages | The Registrar-General or the Deputy Registrar-General | The signature of the certifying officer. |
| Register of Deaths | The Chief Registrar of Births and Deaths, a Registrar of Births and Deaths or a Deputy Registrar of Births and Deaths. | The seal and signature of the certifying officer. |
This Order makes entries contained in specified public registers of Sierra Leone admissible in evidence in the United Kingdom and provides for their proof by official certificates.