Editing Perjury (section)

===United Kingdom===

====England and Wales====
Perjury is a statutory offence in [[England and Wales]]. It is created by section 1(1) of the [[Perjury Act 1911]]. Section 1 of that Act reads:

{{Blockquote|(1) If any person lawfully sworn as a witness or as an interpreter in a judicial proceeding wilfully makes a statement material in that proceeding, which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be guilty of perjury, and shall, on conviction thereof on indictment, be liable to [[penal servitude]] for a term not exceeding seven years, or to imprisonment ... for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine or to both such penal servitude or imprisonment and fine.

(2) The expression "judicial proceeding" includes a proceeding before any court, tribunal, or person having by law power to hear, receive, and examine evidence on oath.

(3) Where a statement made for the purposes of a judicial proceeding is not made before the tribunal itself, but is made on oath before a person authorised by law to administer an oath to the person who makes the statement, and to record or authenticate the statement, it shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as having been made in a judicial proceeding.

(4) A statement made by a person lawfully sworn in England for the purposes of a judicial proceeding—
:(a) in another part of His Majesty’s dominions; or
:(b) in a British tribunal lawfully constituted in any place by sea or land outside His Majesty’s dominions; or
:(c) in a tribunal of any foreign state,

shall, for the purposes of this section, be treated as a statement made in a judicial proceeding in England.

(5) Where, for the purposes of a judicial proceeding in England, a person is lawfully sworn under the authority of an Act of Parliament—
:(a) in any other part of His Majesty’s dominions; or
:(b) before a British tribunal or a British officer in a foreign country, or within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England;

a statement made by such person so sworn as aforesaid (unless the Act of Parliament under which it was made otherwise specifically provides) shall be treated for the purposes of this section as having been made in the judicial proceeding in England for the purposes whereof it was made.

(6) The question whether a statement on which perjury is assigned was material is a question of law to be determined by the court of trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/1-2/6/section/1|title=Perjury Act 1911|work=legislation.gov.uk|access-date=24 July 2015}}</ref>}}

The words omitted from section 1(1) were repealed by section 1(2) of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1948]].

A person guilty of an offence under section 11(1) of the [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act 1972]] (i.e. perjury before the [[Court of Justice of the European Union]]) may be proceeded against and punished in England and Wales as for an offence under section 1(1).<ref>The [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act 1972]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/68/section/11 section 11(1)(a)]</ref>

Section 1(4) has effect in relation to proceedings in the Court of Justice of the European Union as it has effect in relation to a judicial proceeding in a tribunal of a foreign state.<ref>The [[Evidence (European Court) Order 1976]] (S.I. 1976/428), [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1976/428/article/3/made article 3], as read with [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1976/428/article/2/made article 2]</ref>

Section 1(4) applies in relation to proceedings before a relevant convention court under the [[European Patent Convention]] as it applies to a judicial proceeding in a tribunal of a foreign state.<ref>The [[Patents Act 1977]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/37/section/92 section 92(5)]</ref>

A statement made on oath by a witness outside the United Kingdom and given in evidence through a live television link by virtue of section 32 of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]] must be treated for the purposes of section 1 as having been made in the proceedings in which it is given in evidence.<ref>The [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/33/section/32 section 32(3)]</ref>

Section 1 applies in relation to a person acting as an intermediary as it applies in relation to a person lawfully sworn as an interpreter in a judicial proceeding; and for this purpose, where a person acts as an intermediary in any proceeding which is not a judicial proceeding for the purposes of section 1, that proceeding must be taken to be part of the judicial proceeding in which the witness's evidence is given.<ref>The [[Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/23/section/29 section 29(7)]</ref>

Where any statement made by a person on oath in any proceeding which is not a judicial proceeding for the purposes of section 1 is received in evidence in pursuance of a [[special measures direction]], that proceeding must be taken for the purposes of section 1 to be part of the judicial proceeding in which the statement is so received in evidence.<ref>The [[Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/23/section/31 section 31(6)]</ref>

=====Judicial proceeding=====

The definition in section 1(2) is not "comprehensive".<ref name="Archbold Criminal Pleading 1999">[[Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice]]. 1999. Paragraph 28-159 at page 2303.</ref>

The book ''[[Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice|Archbold]]'' says that it appears to be immaterial whether the court before which the statement is made has jurisdiction in the particular cause in which the statement is made, because there is no express requirement in the Act that the court be one of "competent jurisdiction" and because the definition in section 1(2) does not appear to require this by implication either.<ref name="Archbold Criminal Pleading 1999"/>

=====''Actus reus''=====
The ''[[actus reus]]'' of perjury might be considered to be the making of a statement, whether true or false, on oath in a judicial proceeding, where the person knows the statement to be false or believes it to be false.<ref>Ormerod, David. ''Smith and Hogan's Criminal Law''. Thirteenth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2011. Section 4.1.4 at page 49.</ref><ref>Smith, J. C. and Hogan, Brian. ''Criminal Law''. Second Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1965. p. 509 footnote 12.</ref>

Perjury is a [[conduct crime]].<ref>Ormerod, David. ''Smith and Hogan's Criminal Law''. Thirteenth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2011. Section 4.1.5.2 at page 50.</ref>

=====Mode of trial=====

Perjury is [[triable only on indictment]].<ref>The [[Perjury Act 1911]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/1-2/6/section/1 section 1(1)]; the [[Magistrates' Courts Act 1980]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/43/section/17 section 17(1)] and Schedule 1, [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/43/schedule/1/paragraph/14 paragraph 14(a)]</ref>

=====Sentence=====

A person convicted of perjury is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or to a fine, or to both.<ref name=":1">The [[Perjury Act 1911]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/1-2/6/section/1 section 1(1)]; the [[Criminal Justice Act 1948]], [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/11-12/58/section/1 sections 1(1) and (2)]</ref>

The following cases are relevant:
*''R v Hall'' (1982) 4 [[Criminal Appeal Reports (Sentencing)|Cr App R (S)]] 153
*''R v Knight'', 6 Cr App R (S) 31, [1984] [[Criminal Law Review|Crim LR]] 304, CA
*''R v Healey'' (1990) 12 Cr App R (S) 297
*''R v Dunlop'' [2001] 2 Cr App R (S) 27
*''[http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2002/1996.html R v Archer]'' [2002] EWCA Crim 1996, [2003] 1 Cr App R (S) 86
*''R v Adams'' [2004] 2 Cr App R (S) 15
*''R v Cunningham'' [2007] 2 Cr App R (S) 61

See also the Crown Prosecution Service sentencing manual.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/perjury/|title=Perjury|work=cps.gov.uk|access-date=24 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211026/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/perjury/|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=====History=====
In Anglo-Saxon legal procedure, the offence of perjury could only be committed by both jurors and by [[compurgator]]s.<ref name="Turner421">Turner, J. W. C. ''Kenny Outlines on Criminal Law'' (London: Cambridge University Press, 1964) (18th edition), p.421.</ref> With time witnesses began to appear in court they were not so treated despite the fact that their functions were akin to that of modern witnesses. This was due to the fact that their role were not yet differentiated from those of the juror and so evidence or perjury by witnesses was not made a crime. Even in the 14th century, when witnesses started appearing before the jury to testify, perjury by them was not made a punishable offence. The maxim then was that every witness's evidence on oath was true.<ref name="Turner421"/> Perjury by witnesses began to be punished before the end of the 15th century by the [[Star Chamber]].

The immunity enjoyed by witnesses began also to be whittled down or interfered with by the Parliament in England in 1540 with subornation of perjury<ref name="Turner421"/> and, in 1562, with perjury proper. The punishment for the offence then was in the nature of monetary penalty, recoverable in a civil action and not by penal sanction. In 1613, the Star Chamber declared perjury by a witness to be a punishable offence at common law.

Prior to the 1911 Act, perjury was governed by section 3 of the [[Maintenance and Embracery Act 1540]] 5 Eliz 1 c. 9 ({{lang|enm|italic=no|An Act for the Punyshement of suche persones as shall procure or comit any wyllful Perjurye}}; repealed 1967) and the [[Perjury Act 1728]].

=====Materiality=====

The requirement that the statement be material can be traced back to<ref>''[[Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice]]''. 1999. Paragraph 28-160 at page 2303. They cite 3 Inst 167.</ref> and has been credited to<ref>Smith, J. C, and Hogan, Brian. ''Criminal Law''. Sweet & Maxwell. 1965. Second Edition. Page 506.</ref> [[Edward Coke]], who said:

{{Blockquote|For if it be not material, then though it be false, yet it is no perjury, because it concerneth not the point in suit, and therefore in effect it is extra-judicial. Also this act giveth remedy to the party grieved, and if the deposition be not material, he cannot be grieved thereby.<ref>3 [[Institutes of the Lawes of England|Inst]] [https://archive.org/details/thirdpartinstit01cokegoog/page/n212 <!-- pg=166 --> 167]. This passage is quoted by Smith, J. C, and Hogan, Brian, ''Criminal Law'' (Sweet & Maxwell, 1965) (2nd Edition), p. 506.</ref>}}

====Northern Ireland====
Perjury is a statutory offence in [[Northern Ireland]]. It is created by [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1979/1714/article/3 article 3(1)] of the [[Perjury (Northern Ireland) Order 1979]] (S.I. 1979/1714 (N.I. 19)). This replaces the [[Perjury Act (Northern Ireland) 1946]] (c. 13) (N.I.).