Half-proof () was a concept of
medieval Roman law
Medieval Roman law is the continuation and development of ancient Roman law that developed in the European Late Middle Ages. Based on the ancient text of Roman law, '' Corpus iuris civilis'', it added many new concepts, and formed the basis of the ...
, describing a level of
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...
between mere
suspicion and the full
proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a co ...
() needed to convict someone of a crime. The concept was introduced by the
Glossator
The scholars of the 11th- and 12th-century legal schools in Italy, France and Germany are identified as glossators in a specific sense. They studied Roman law based on the '' Digesta'', the ''Codex'' of Justinian, the ''Authenticum'' (an abridged ...
s of the 1190s such as
Azo, who gives such examples as a single witness or private documents.
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
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
to extract further evidence that could complete the
burden of proof.
, the leading late 17th-century English jurist, wrote:
However, the concept never became firmly established in
English law
English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
claimed that the
Parlement of Toulouse
The Parlement of Toulouse () was one of the '' parlements'' of the Kingdom of France, established in the city of Toulouse and responsible for a territory roughly similar to the modern administrative region of Occitania. It was modelled on the ...
dealt not only in half-proofs but in quarter-proofs and eighth-proofs, but there is no direct evidence of that.
In later times, half-proof was mentioned in 19th century
Scots law
Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...
[J. Erskine, ''An Institute of the Law of Scotland'', ed. J. Ivory, Edinburgh, 1828, II: pp. 965, 972.] and in the 1917 Catholic
Code of Canon Law.
References
External links
Law Dictionary entry, Half proof
Criminal law
Evidence law
Medieval law
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