Half-proof
Template:Short description Half-proof (Script error: No such module "Lang".) was a concept of medieval Roman law, describing a level of evidence between mere suspicion and the full proof (Script error: No such module "Lang".) needed to convict someone of a crime. The concept was introduced by the Glossators of the 1190s such as Azo, who gives such examples as a single witness or private documents.[1]
In cases where there was half-proof against a defendant, he might be allowed to take an oath as to his innocence, or he might be sent for torture to extract further evidence that could complete the burden of proof.[1]Template:Rp
Sir Matthew Hale, the leading late 17th-century English jurist, wrote:Template:Quote
However, the concept never became firmly established in English law.
Voltaire claimed that the Parlement of Toulouse dealt not only in half-proofs but in quarter-proofs and eighth-proofs,[2] but there is no direct evidence of that.Template:Fact
In later times, half-proof was mentioned in 19th century Scots law[3] and in the 1917 Catholic Code of Canon Law.[1]Template:Rp
References
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