Evidence Notes

Evidence in Procedural Law

  • Evidence: Means to establish facts in a legal dispute before a competent authority.
  • Evidence Procedure: Legal framework for presentation, admission, collection, examination, and evaluation of evidence.
  • Aim: Reconstruct past events accurately for a just decision.
  • Subject of Evidence-Taking: All facts relevant to the decision.
  • Evidentiary Means: Procedural act to obtain information.
  • Evidence: Direct knowledge or result obtained through evidentiary means.

Classification of Evidence

  • Exculpatory: Supports the accused.
  • Incriminating: Speaks against the accused.
  • Original: Directly perceived fact.
  • Derivative: Obtained from an intermediary source.
  • Direct: Directly confirms or refutes the proven fact.
  • Indirect (Circumstantial): Points to another fact, from which a conclusion can be drawn.
  • Material: Objects, documents.
  • Personal: Testimony of a witness, defendant, or expert.
  • Absolutely Invalid: Cannot be remedied.
  • Relatively Invalid: Flaw can be remedied.

Evidence-Taking Stages

  • Searching: Discovery and collection.
  • Producing and Documenting: Execution and formal recording.
  • Verifying: Authorities verify truthfulness and reliability.
  • Evaluating: Assessing each piece and their interrelations.
  • Criteria for Evaluation:
    • Admissibility (Legality): Lawfully obtained.
    • Relevance: Relates to the crime.
    • Credibility and Truthfulness: Truthful and reliable.

Evidentiary Means

  • Interrogation of the accused
  • Questioning of witnesses
  • Questioning of experts
  • Expert opinions and professional statements
  • Verification of testimony at the crime scene
  • Identification (line-up or photo array)
  • Reconstruction of events
  • Investigative experiment
  • Inspection (of persons, places, objects)
  • Objects and documents important for the criminal proceedings
  • Reports or notifications
  • Information obtained through information and communication technologies or operational-search means

Specific Evidence Tools in Criminal Proceedings

  • Interrogation of the Accused:
    • No coercion or deceptive questions.
    • Right to consult notes and review the record.
    • Separate interrogation of co-accused.
  • Interrogation of the Defendant:
    • Determination of facts for clarification.
    • Prosecutor and defense conduct interrogation.
  • Confrontation:
    • Resolves contradictions in testimony.
  • Identification (Rekognícia):
    • Identification based on recognition.
  • Interrogation of a Witness:
    • Obliged to testify truthfully.
    • Right to refuse if it endangers themselves or close persons.

Types of Witnesses

  • Anonymous: Identity concealed.
  • Protected: Granted special protection by the state.
  • Expert, Expert Opinion, and Professional Statement:
    • Expertise needed to clarify facts.
    • Expert opinion: Written statement with conclusions.
    • Professional statement: Brief written opinion.
  • Documentary and Material Evidence:
    • Documentary: Written materials.
    • Material: Physical objects.
  • On-Site Inspection
  • Investigative Experiment
  • On-Site Testimony Verification
  • Reconstruction
  • Voice Examination and Voice Sample
  • Use of IT Tools and Operational-Search Means

Civil Procedure of Evidence

  • Objectively regulated process to obtain factual and legal knowledge.
  • Involves verifying factual claims through proposed evidence.
  • Evidence: External circumstances affecting the judge’s conviction.
  • Successful Administration: Leads to a sufficient degree of probability.
  • Full Evidence: Acknowledgment of a factual assertion without objection.
  • Counter-Evidence: Contradicts and seeks to disprove a factual assertion.
  • Evidence of Rebuttal: Seeks to cast doubt on another piece of evidence.
  • Duty of Assertion: Parties must present decisive factual circumstances.
  • Evidentiary Duty: Party must propose evidence to support asserted facts.
  • Procedural Failure: Failure to meet the burden of proof.

Corrective Powers of the Court

  • Right to request supplementation of assertions
  • Right to extend deadlines for facts and evidence
  • Right to take evidence ex officio without party request
  • Right to rely on agreed or uncontested facts

Negative Theory of Proof

  • No one should be required to prove the non-existence of a fact.
  • Burden shifts to the opposing party.

Statutory Reversals of Burden of Proof

  • § 11(2) Anti-Discrimination Act: Defendant must disprove discrimination.
  • § 10 of Act on Payment Services: Provider must prove absence of fault.
  • § 420(3) Civil Code: Tortfeasor must prove absence of causation.
  • § 352(4) Commercial Code: Debtor must prove impossibility of performance.

Types of Evidentiary Procedures

  • Standard Adversarial Proceeding
  • Case Involving Protection of a Weaker Party
  • Non-Contentious Proceeding
  • The court must inform the parties at the preliminary hearing which facts it deems relevant and which evidence it intends to take

Facts Not Requiring Proof

  • Generally Known Facts (Notoriety)
  • Facts Known to the Court Through Official Activity
  • Legal Norms (iura novit curia)

Impact on Judicial Reasoning and Judgment

  • Proven Facts
  • Uncontested Facts Without Reasonable Doubt
  • Facts Not Requiring Proof
  • Presumptions and Legal Fictions

Evidentiary Process Phases

  • Proposal of Evidence
  • Securing of Evidence
  • Taking of Evidence
  • Evaluation of Evidence

Providing and Submitting Evidence

  • Parties should submit documents alongside their written submissions and, where possible, in copy rather than original
  • When proposing evidence, a party must specify: What fact the evidence aims to prove
  • Parties have the right: To be present during evidence-taking

Methods of Taking Evidence

  • Witnesses testify under oath and are examined in two stages
  • Documentary evidence is handled by reading or summarising relevant parts during the hearing
  • Expert opinions are submitted in writing, delivered to parties for comments, and considered during the hearing
  • Inspections may be carried out at the hearing or at the site of the subject matter

Disclosure and Informational Duties

  • Disclosure duty (edičná povinnosť) is governed by § 189 CSP
  • Informational duty (informačná povinnosť) is governed by § 190 CSP

Evaluation of Evidence

  • Truthfulness (Credibility)
  • Legality (Compliance with Procedural Law)
  • Relevance (Significance for the Decision)
  • RAVEN Criteria: Reputation, Ability to perceive, Vested interest, Expertise, Neutrality

Evidence Tools in Civil Proceedings

  • Any means that can establish the factual state relevant to the proceedings may serve as evidence.
  • Witness testimonies
  • Expert opinions
  • Reports and statements of authorities
  • Documents
  • Inspections
  • Examination of parties

Types of Evidence

  • Direct and indirect evidence
  • Original and derivative evidence
  • Personal and material evidence
  • Illegally obtained evidence

Evidence Tools in Civil Proceedings

  • Examination of a party
  • Examination of a witness
  • Documentary evidence
  • Expert evidence
  • Expert statement
  • Inspection

Evidence in Administrative Proceedings

  • Any lawful means can be used
  • Main means of evidence: witness testimony, expert opinions, documents, on-site inspections
  • § 35 Witnesses (Svedkovia)
  • § 36 Experts (Znalci)
  • § 37 Documents (Listiny)
  • § 38 On-Site Inspection (Ohliadka)
  • § 39 Affidavit (Čestné vyhlásenie)

Admissibility of Illegally Obtained Evidence

  • Civil proceedings
  • Criminal Proceedings
  • Proportionality Test in Criminal Proceedings
  • Ongoing Legal Debate and Constitutional Interpretation

Burden of Evidence

  • Civil procedure
  • Criminal Procedure

Director Duties in Company Law

  • Under Slovak law
  • Director Duties in UK Private Limited Companies (LLCs)