OATH (AS. ap, Goth, ails, OHG. cid, Ger. Eid. oath; connected with 011., orth, oath). A declaration or compact, in which the declarant confirms the truth of his assertion by invoking supernatural penalties on his head in the event of perjury. The punishment is often ceremonially represented, as when a victim is sacrificed, and the person making a pledge expresses a desire that he himself, if he prove false. may undergo a like fate. In Arma 11 . a native swears on a sword, a crocodile's tooth, or a thunderbolt sett). The implication is that the weapon may wound him, the crocodile devour him. or the god who hurls the lightning smite him. In the He brew ritual a sacrificial beast was cut in pieces and burned; the oath-taker then passed through the fire, in order to symbolize the fate which would punish his falsehood. Quite similar was the ancient Oreek usage, in which an animal was slaughtered, and the pieces thrown into the sea; or the victim might be burned on the altar; hope perhaps it lweame common to take oaths before altars, where the swearer I .111111ell the holy things, or raised his eyes and hands to heaven, where was supposed to dwell the deity Nebo watched over the sanctity of compacts. Oaths were usual in the ease of every solemn agree ment. public or private, relating to business, war, or politics; of this practice survivals remain in one official and judicial custom.
In law, an oath is a solemn declaration or pledge, made by a person of discretion, before a properly authorized officer. 0) the curvet that a thing stated or promised by him is true, and with sonic ceremony believed to be binding on the conscience of the declarant, as by an appeal to tiod to his good faith.
With the development of Roman jurisprudence the practice of thus insuring the truthfulness of witnesses in legal actions became fixed and common, and continued in the civil law. In England, up to the time of the rein of William and Mary, no one could testify in a court of justice who did not believe in (10d. and recognize the doctrine of future punishment for sins. By the Toleration Act, 1. William and Mary, c. IS, § 13, Quakers were permitted to make a declaration of fidelity to the State, instead of the oath of allegiance; and by 7 and S William and Mary, the solemn affirmation of Quakers was made of equal weight with an oath, and was allowed in judicial iwoceedings when the privilege was claimed. In 1854 Parliament passed the 'Com mon Law Procedure Act,' 17 and IS ' Viet.. c. 611. § 1, permitting. any one whose conscience prevented hint from taking an oath, or who did not believe in its binding efileacy. to make a -solemn affirmation instead. The 'oaths Aet,' 51 and 52, Viet., c. 411, made further liberal pro visions in regard to oaths and affirmations.
With reference to their legal effect, oaths are considered assertory, judicial, or extra-judicial. An assertory oath is one required by law other than one for use in judicial proceedings. as an oath of office, or a revenue or custom-house oath. False swearing in such a case does not amount to perjury, but in most jurisdictions, and in the acts of Congress, there are statutory pro visions making it a crime. A judicial oath is
one required by la W in, or for use in, a judicial proceeding, and a false statement made under such an oath is punishable criminally. An extra judicial oath is one which is voluntarily taken, and not 'intended for use in a legal proceeding, as an oath taken merely to convince some one in a private transaction of the good faith of the declarant. Tts falsity does not constitute a criminal offense.
The most important class of oaths affecting the general public are those which are required to enforce the truth from witnesses in courts and legal proceedings. Where a statute requires an oath to he administered, it is held that only per sons having sufficient to know the nature and obligations of such a ceremovy may be sworn. Therefore, children and mentally de ficient persons who are not able to comprehend the difference between right and wrong are often excluded from testifying in legal actions. In most of the United Stales a witness may either swear or affirm. False testimony in either case to perjury. An extra-judicial oath is said ti he binding only in 101'1, C011:04( orally; but it is not legally binding upon the person taking it. An example of such an oath, i, the common one to abstain from the use of in toxicating liquors.
The of each State prescribe the various officers who shall administer oaths for different purposes. Judges. clerks of courts, referees, justly,: of the peace, and coroners usually ad oaths to witnesses. and notaries and commissioners of deeds commonly take oaths outside of court for use in judicial proceedings, or to authenticate legal instruments. A person authorized to administer oaths cannot delegate his ',otters, except that Where an officer, such as a sberlll% is authorized to appoint a deputy. it is usually held that the deputy represents his principal for all purposes including the admin istration of oaths. An oath should be adminis tered strictly in the form prescribed by statute and by a competent ollicer. For example, it has been held, where a statute prescribed the form of an oath wide]) ended with the words, "so help me tha.t the omission of such words would invalidate it. The oath administered to a per son subscribing and swearing to an affidavit is usually in the follow form: "Yon do solemnly swear that the contents of this affidavit by you subscribed are true, so help you God." 'Hebrews are often sworn on the Pentateuch. keeping on their hats. and their oath ends with the words, "so help me Jehovah." lolianiniedan is sworn MI the Koran: a Chinese witness in the Western States is sometimes sworn by his kneeling. break ing a saucer. and uttering an imprecation that his "sou! may be broken into as many pieces as the if he does not tell the truth. The tendency at present is to consider that the stat utes against perjury and false swearing have a more potent effect than religious fears in deter a witness from snaking false statements. and acoadingly it is not considered of as great importance whether a witness swears or affirms that his testimony will be true. See .\t'rIAAvrr: EvinExcE: NormtY PUBLIC: PERJURY: WITNESS. I he 810 referred to under EVI.