Witness Statement

Witness Statement

When to use this

Use this skill to draft a witness statement for use in court or tribunal proceedings — not arbitration (see [[prompt-pack-witness-statement-arbitration]] for the arbitration-specific version).

A witness statement is the witness's evidence-in-chief in written form. In most DIFC, ADGM, and UK proceedings, the witness statement stands as the witness's oral testimony in the examination-in-chief; the witness is then cross-examined. In UAE onshore and Lebanese civil proceedings, witness evidence is typically oral, but written statements are used to organize and present the witness's testimony and may be submitted as a written memorial or preliminary statement. In KSA courts, testimony is primarily oral before the judge; written statements are used for preparation purposes.

Required inputs

Optional inputs

• Exhibit list — documents the witness references; exhibits must be attached to the statement
• Prior statements or communications — prior witness statements, interview notes, contemporaneous correspondence
• Expert report to respond to — if the witness is a factual witness responding to an expert's characterization of events
• Opposing party's pleading — helps structure the statement around contested facts

Document structure

1. Heading — court / case name; case number; name of witness; number of statement (First, Second, etc.); date; party on whose behalf the statement is made

2. Introduction

   • Full name, current address (or professional address if witness prefers for privacy), occupation / role
   • If the witness is an employee or officer of a party: state that and confirm they have been authorized to make the statement
   • "I make this statement from my own personal knowledge of the matters set out herein, save where I indicate otherwise, in which case I believe the facts to be true."
   • If any part is based on information provided by others, identify the source

3. Background — witness's role, how long they have been in the role, their involvement in the events at issue; keep brief (2–5 paragraphs)

4. Factual narrative — chronological account of the events the witness directly observed or participated in; each material event should have its own paragraph (or short group of paragraphs); reference exhibits as "[Exhibit A]" or "[WS-1]" per the applicable exhibit numbering convention; state what the witness saw, heard, said, did, or received — not their legal conclusions; where the witness has a document that records a conversation or meeting, refer to the document rather than paraphrasing it

5. Response to disputed facts (if applicable) — address the opposing party's specific factual allegations that the witness can speak to; label this section clearly so it is easy to navigate in cross-examination

6. Statement of truth — the precise wording required varies by jurisdiction (see below); failure to include the correct statement of truth may render the statement inadmissible or require an amended filing

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Statement of truth wording by jurisdiction:

7. Exhibits — list all exhibits referenced in the statement; exhibits are typically labeled with the witness's initials and a number (e.g., "WS-1," "JD-1"); attach originals or certified copies; in DIFC proceedings, exhibits form part of the trial bundle

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Jurisdictional notes

DIFC / ADGM: Common-law procedure; witness statements are the standard form of evidence-in-chief; stand as oral testimony; witness is cross-examined; DIFC Practice Direction 2 governs format and content requirements. Statements must be in English; Arabic translations may be filed for bilingual witnesses.

UAE onshore: Civil procedure is inquisitorial; judges take a more active role in questioning witnesses; detailed factual witness statements in the Western sense are less common; focus instead on preparing structured witness preparation notes and brief written summaries. Statements are in Arabic (or translated).

Lebanon: French-influenced civil procedure; notarial affidavits (affidavit notarié) are used in commercial litigation; witnesses examined by the judge; written witness statements used as preparation documents; Arabic (and sometimes French) required.

Egypt: Civil procedure derived from French model; oral testimony before the court; written witness memos submitted to support the oral testimony; Arabic required.

KSA: Judicial system based on Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia); witnesses must meet Sharia competency requirements (adala); testimony oral before the judge; women's testimony historically subject to weight considerations (though Saudi legal reforms since 2017 have modernized some aspects of commercial litigation); in SAGIA and commercial courts, written evidence is increasingly accepted in practice.

UK courts: CPR Part 32 and Practice Direction 32 govern witness statements; must include the witness's own words; no "lawyer language" substituted for the witness's own account; practice direction specifies page limits in some courts.

Drafting standards

• First person, direct observation — write "I saw," "I heard," "I received," not "the Claimant observed" or "evidence establishes"
• No legal conclusions — legal argument belongs in written submissions, not witness statements; flag any clause in the briefing notes that contains legal conclusions and rewrite as factual observations
• Each paragraph = one topic — courts and opposing counsel navigate statements by paragraph number; mixed-topic paragraphs create cross-examination difficulty
• Exhibit references must be accurate — a statement referencing an exhibit that does not exist or is mislabeled creates procedural problems at trial
• Language consistency — use the witness's natural language register; an obviously "lawyerized" statement may be challenged in cross-examination or by the court
• Statement of truth is non-negotiable — include the jurisdiction-correct version verbatim; do not paraphrase

Common mistakes

• Legal conclusions embedded in factual narrative — "The defendant breached its duty" is for the pleading, not the witness statement
• Hearsay not identified — if the witness is recounting what someone else told them, state who said it, when, and in what context; hearsay that is not acknowledged can be challenged on admissibility
• Outdated statement of truth wording — UK CPR statement of truth was updated in 2020; verify the current wording
• Missing exhibit schedule — every document referenced in the statement must be attached and numbered
• Overlapping with expert evidence — witness statements address facts; if the witness is also giving opinion evidence, they need to be qualified as an expert (different formal requirements)

Related skills

• [[prompt-pack-witness-statement-arbitration]]
• [[prompt-pack-expert-report]]
• [[review-pleading]]
• [[heuristic-always-state-jurisdiction-first]]