A child witness is under twelve and the Court considers that the child understands the duty to speak…

The proviso to sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Oaths Act, 1969 says that where a witness is a child under twelve who, in the Court's opinion, understands the duty of speaking the truth but not the nature of an oath or affirmation, no oath or affirmation is administered; its absence does not make the evidence inadmissible or remove the duty to speak the truth. Section 124 of the BSA deals with competence to testify, section 125 with witnesses unable to speak and section 139 with the number of witnesses.