Statement of Claim and Witness Statement on Oath:
Introduction
A plaintiff that is claiming damage in court through a civil suit shall be moved to file a statement of claim along with the writ of summon.
A statement of claim is a court process in which the plaintiff tells the court the claims that he has against the Defendant. A statement of claim is part of the pleading that is meant to be filed by the plaintiff while establishing his claim in court. The plaintiff is the person that instituted a civil suit in the court.
A plaintiff is a party that has his name as a plaintiff in the register of the court.
He shall be expected to tell the court that the transaction that gave rise to the civil suit and his claim against the defendant. The defendant is the person that the plaintiff is claiming against in court.
The statement of claim of the plaintiff once filed in the court takes a better place than the writ of summon. It is the statement of claim that shall establish whether the plaintiff has a cause of action to claim against the defendant and whether he has a locus standi.
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The cause of action culminates to include the wrong that the plaintiff suffered from the act of the defendant. The plaintiff has to establish well in the court that he has a cause of action for suing the defendant and the statement of claim shall be explicit in stating this.
The statement of claim shall also show the claimant’s locus standi. Locus standi is the place of a stand of the claimant. Whether or not the plaintiff has incurred liability from the wrongful act of the Defendant.
Who can make a statement of claim?
A statement of claim can be made by the plaintiff in the matter. The plaintiff shall be Stating the reason why the court should give judgment in his favour in his statement of claim. A statement of claim is to be made by the witness if he is representing himself in person or by his counsel. It shall state clearly the facts of the transaction that gave rise to the suit and it shall also contain the claims of the plaintiff against the defendant.
Statement of claim shall be expected to be numbered in paragraphs. It shall be signed by the party that prepared it and it shall be served on the other party.
Witness statement on oath?
This is the statement of fact prepared by the witness that is invited by either the plaintiff or defendant to give testimony in his favour. This a written statement of fact prepared by the witness testifying in support of the claim or defence of the party that invited him.
When the witness statement on oath is filed by the plaintiff’s witness, it shall be prepared and filed to establish the claim of the plaintiff and when filed by the defendant, it shall be set to establish the defence of the defendant.
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Witness statement on oath has a similar feature to the affidavit. The only difference is that a witness statement on oath must be adopted for it to turn into a piece of evidence. An affidavit when filed by the Deponent shall be deemed evidence.