Proven Facts, Beliefs, and Reasoned Verdicts
Proven Facts, Beliefs and Reasoned Verdicts challenges a subjectivist conception of factfinding by tying the very concept of “proof” and the applicable proof standards and burdens to the duty of giving reasons for trial verdicts. The chapter examines the link between the Roman-Germanic and English-speaking legal traditions and concludes that evidential subjectivism still predominates in civil law countries in the name of the free evaluation of evidence. It aims to demonstrate that there is a close relationship between the concept of proof, standards of proof, and the way in which the duty of giving reasons for trial verdicts, and even the possibility of complying with this duty, are understood. Specifically, it reinforces the fact that if proof is conceptually linked to the beliefs or convictions of the trier of fact, it is impossible to sustain the idea of giving reasons as a justification of the decisions about facts.