Oaths Act 1888

Oaths Act 1888 ^[a]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to amend the Law as to Oaths.
Citation	51 & 52 Vict. c. 46
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	24 December 1888
Commencement	24 December 1888 [b]
Repealed	30 July 1978
Other legislation
Amends	Common Law Procedure Act 1854 Common Law Procedure Amendment Act (Ireland) 1856 Criminal Law Amendment Act 1867 Juries Act (Ireland) 1868 Evidence Further Amendment Act 1869
Repeals/revokes	Affirmations Act 1861 Affirmations (Scotland) Act 1865 Jurors Affirmation (Scotland) Act 1868 Evidence Amendment Act 1870
Amended by	Perjury Act 1911
Repealed by	Oaths Act 1978
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Oaths Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 46) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom providing that all required oaths (including the oath of allegiance taken to the Sovereign, required in order to sit in Parliament) may be solemnly affirmed rather than sworn to God. ^[1] The Act was the culmination of a campaign by the noted atheist and secularist MP Charles Bradlaugh to take his seat. ^[1]

Subsequent developments

The whole act by section 7(1) of, and part I of the schedule to, the Oaths Act 1978, which consolidated the act. ^[2]

See also

• Oaths Act

Notes

1. Section 7.
2. The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793.

References

1. Church and State in 21st Century Britain: The Future of Church Establishment (ed. R.M. Morris: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), p. 21.
2. Oaths Act 1978

External links

• Hansard, Second Reading of the Oaths Bill, 14 March 1888
• Hansard, Third Reading of the Oaths Bill, 9 August 1888