Short answer. They must be sworn in first. Section 4 requires that before entering upon his or her duties, the commissioner be sworn to a faithful and honest performance of those duties. The oath is a precondition, not a formality that can be completed later — no valid exercise of the commissioner's authority can occur until it has been administered.
What the law says
Before entering upon his or her duties the commissioner shall be sworn to a faithful and honest performance thereof.
Rule 32, Section 4 — Oath of commissioner. Read the full provision →
A short but essential formality
The section is a single sentence, but it establishes a firm precondition: the commissioner's duties cannot begin until the oath is taken. Nothing in Section 4 allows the oath to be administered afterward, or treats it as something that can be cured once the commissioner has already begun taking testimony, examining documents, or otherwise exercising the powers a court of reference grants. The requirement is sequential by its own terms — 'before entering upon his or her duties' — so the order in which things happen matters as much as whether they happen at all. This binds whoever the court names as commissioner, whether a lawyer, an accountant, or any other qualified person the parties or the court select for the reference.
What the oath commits the commissioner to
It is a commitment to a 'faithful and honest performance' of the assigned duties, mirroring the kind of accountability expected of a judicial officer, given the significant delegated powers a commissioner can exercise under Section 3. 'Faithful' performance suggests fidelity to the terms of the order of reference and to the court's instructions, while 'honest' performance points to acting without favoritism toward either side and without misrepresenting what actually occurred during the proceedings before the commissioner. Together, the two words describe a standard of conduct the commissioner is bound to from the very first moment of taking up the assignment.
Why this matters for the integrity of the reference
Because a commissioner can regulate hearings, rule on evidence, and shape the eventual report to the court, requiring a sworn commitment before any of that authority is exercised protects the reliability of the entire reference process. The court that appoints a commissioner is delegating part of its own fact-finding function, and the parties are relying on the commissioner's report to accurately reflect what was presented. An oath taken before any of that work begins gives the parties, and the court reviewing the eventual report, a baseline assurance that the commissioner understood and accepted the obligation of faithful and honest performance from the outset, rather than adopting it only after work was already underway.
Related provisions
- Rule 32, Section 4 — Oath of commissioner
- Rule 32, Section 3 — Order of reference; powers of the commissioner