50.— The Statutory Declarations Act 1938 is amended by inserting the following after section 3:

“Making of statutory declarations outside State.

3A.— (1) Without prejudice to section 6 of the Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2006—

(a) a statutory declaration made in a place outside the State shall be regarded as having been validly made if it is made in such a place before a person authorised under section 1 to take and receive the declaration, or

(b) a statutory declaration made in a place outside the State shall be regarded as having been validly made if it is made in such a place before a person authorised, under the law of that place, to administer oaths in that place and subsection (3), (4) or (5), as the case may be, is complied with.

(2) Subsection (1) is in addition to, and not in substitution for, the circumstances provided under the Diplomatic and Consular Officers (Provision of Services) Act 1993 or any other enactment in which a statutory declaration made by a person in a place outside the State is regarded as a statutory declaration validly made (whether for purposes generally or any specific purpose).

(3) In a case falling within subsection (1)(b), and unless subsection (4) or (5) applies, the signature of the person making the statutory declaration concerned (the ‘declarer’) and, to the extent that the law of the place concerned referred to in subsection (1)(b) requires either or both of the following to be authenticated:

(a) the capacity in which the declarer has acted in making that declaration,

(b) the seal or stamp of the person who has administered the oath to the declarer,

shall be authenticated in accordance with the law of that place.

(4) If the place concerned referred to in subsection (1)(b) is situate in a state that is a contracting party to the EC Convention, then (unless that Convention does not extend to that place) the provisions of that Convention with regard to authentication shall apply in relation to the statutory declaration concerned, including the procedures for verification of any matter in circumstances where serious doubts, with good reason, arise in respect of that matter.

(5) If the place concerned referred to in subsection (1)(b) is situate in a state that is a contracting party to the Hague Convention but is not a contracting party to the EC Convention, then (unless the Hague Convention does not extend to that particular place) the provisions of the Hague Convention with regard to authentication shall apply in relation to the statutory declaration concerned, including the procedures for verification of any matter in circumstances where serious doubts, with good reason, arise in respect of that matter.

(6) A person may, before receiving any statutory declaration purporting to be made in pursuance of, or for the purposes of, a statutory provision, being a declaration—

(a) falling within subsection (1)(b), and

(b) to which neither the provisions of the EC Convention nor the Hague Convention apply as regards the authentication of it,

require such proof, as he or she considers appropriate, of any particular requirements of the law referred to in subsection (3).

(7) In this section—

‘ EC Convention ’ means the Convention Abolishing the Legalisation of Documents in the Member States of the European Communities of 25 May 1987;

‘ Hague Convention ’ means the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents done at the Hague on 5 October 1961.”.