§ 171.049.Oath

A short grant of authority with a long consequence.

The arbitrators may administer the oath, or direct one of their number to do it.

The oath is the one used in a district court civil action, borrowed rather than invented.

Sworn testimony is what makes an arbitration hearing more than a conversation. A witness who lies under oath faces the same consequences as a witness who lies in court.

The power is permissive. The section says the arbitrators may administer the oath, which fits proceedings that range from formal hearings to informal document exchanges.

It sits with the other borrowed court powers in this subchapter. Section 171.050 borrows deposition practice, Section 171.051 borrows subpoena practice, and Section 171.052 borrows the witness fee.

Each borrowing serves the same end. A private tribunal has no inherent power over anyone, so the legislature lent it the courts’ machinery piece by piece.

Nothing here requires an oath. Parties who want a formal record usually ask for one, and institutional rules commonly provide for it.

The international chapter takes a different route, giving the tribunal power over the admissibility and weight of evidence in Section 172.104 instead of borrowing court practice item by item.