Evidence

Introduction
The early law of evidence
- Nonrational sources of evidence
- Semirational sources of evidence
- The influence of Roman-canonical law
Comparative survey of modern principles
- Oral proceedings
- The burden of proof
- Relevance and admissibility
- The free evaluation of evidence
Sources of proof
- Witnesses
  - Privileges
  - Swearing
- Reliability of witness testimony
  - Examination and cross-examination
  - The hearsay rule
  - Confessions and admissions
- Party testimony
- Expert evidence
- Documentary evidence
- Real evidence

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

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At a Glance

evidence summary

Related Questions

How can a court determine whether a document is authentic?
How can a subpoena duces tecum require a third party to produce a document?
How can testimony from a document's signer help prove that the document is genuine?
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How did United States v. Leon create a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule?
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How did the use of torture become connected to confessions in medieval evidence law?
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What happens when the party with the burden of proof cannot provide enough evidence?
What is the trial judge's role when attorneys examine and cross-examine witnesses?
Who must prove that a confession was made voluntarily under English law?
Why are involuntary confessions not admissible in Anglo-American law?
Why are some witnesses barred from testifying even when their testimony is relevant?
Why are witness examinations usually conducted orally in court?
Why can a criminal defendant choose not to testify in an Anglo-American trial?
Why can a judge not direct a jury to return a guilty verdict in a criminal case?
Why can relevant evidence still be excluded from a trial?
Why did jury trials lead common-law courts to create more rules about admissible evidence?
Why did medieval Roman-canonical law require testimony from two or more suitable witnesses?
Why do civil-law systems treat parties and experts as separate sources of evidence?
Why does the prosecution bear the burden of proof in a criminal case?
Why is documentary evidence often considered more reliable than witness testimony?

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External Websites

State Library of New South Wales - Precedent and evidence
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Evidence

Evidence

law

Also known as: proof

Written by

Heinrich Nagel

Emeritus Professor of Civil and International Civil Procedure, Georg August University of Göttingen, Germany. Former Presiding Judge, Hanseatic Court of Appeals, Bremen. Author of Internationales Zivilprozessrecht...

Heinrich NagelAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 1, 2026 •History

Evidence, in law, any of the material items or assertions of fact that may be submitted to a competent tribunal as a means of ascertaining the truth of any alleged matter of fact under investigation before it. To the end that court decisions are to be based on truth founded on evidence, a primary duty of courts is to conduct proper proceedings so as to hear and consider evidence. The so-called law of evidence is...

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