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Towards a Dialectic Theory of Proof for Legal Procedure
Author(s) -
Jackson John D.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of the royal statistical society: series a (statistics in society)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.103
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1467-985X
pISSN - 0964-1998
DOI - 10.2307/2982701
Subject(s) - mathematics , calculus (dental) , burden of proof , algebra over a field , computer science , pure mathematics , law , political science , medicine , dentistry
SUMMARY This paper argues that, in the light of the shift of interest in evidence scholarship from the rules of evidence towards the process of proof, there is a need to return to the rules of evidence and procedure to consider whether our legal procedures are enabling triers and investigators of fact to handle fact finding as well as they could. It is argued that present adversarial procedures do not allow enough scope for triers of fact to comprehend, marshall and shape the evidence presented at trial and a more dialectic approach is suggested which allows for greater interplay between triers of fact, parties and witnesses in adversarial proceedings.