Abolition of the competence test
24Abolition of the competence test for witnesses in criminal and civil proceedings
(1)The evidence of any person called as a witness (referred to in this section as “the witness”) in criminal or civil proceedings is not inadmissible solely because the witness does not understand—
(a)the nature of the duty of a witness to give truthful evidence, or
(b)the difference between truth and lies.
(2)Accordingly, the court must not, at any time before the witness gives evidence, take any step intended to establish whether the witness understands those matters.