All Topics  
Prima facie

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Prima facie
 
 
  Topics Prima facie Topic Home

Prima facie is a little Latin expression
List of Latin phrases

This page lists direct English language translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni, vidi, vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of List of Greek phrases, as Greek language rhetoric and literature were highly regarded in ancient Rome when Latin rhetoric and literature were still maturing....
 meaning "on its first appearance", or "by first instance". Literally the phrase translates as first face, "prima" first, "facie" face. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a matter appears to be self-evident from the facts. In common law
Common law

Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
 jurisdictions, prima facie denotes evidence which (unless rebutted) would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact.

Most legal proceedings require a prima facie case to exist, following which proceedings may then commence to test it, and create a ruling.

ost legal proceedings, one of the parties has the burden of proof
Burden of proof

The burden of proof is the obligation to shift the assumed conclusion away from an oppositional opinion to one's own position . The burden of proof may only be fulfilled by evidence....
, which requires that party to present prima facie evidence of all facts essential to its case.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Prima facie'
Start a new discussion about 'Prima facie'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Prima facie is a little Latin expression
List of Latin phrases

This page lists direct English language translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni, vidi, vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of List of Greek phrases, as Greek language rhetoric and literature were highly regarded in ancient Rome when Latin rhetoric and literature were still maturing....
 meaning "on its first appearance", or "by first instance". Literally the phrase translates as first face, "prima" first, "facie" face. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a matter appears to be self-evident from the facts. In common law
Common law

Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
 jurisdictions, prima facie denotes evidence which (unless rebutted) would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact.

Most legal proceedings require a prima facie case to exist, following which proceedings may then commence to test it, and create a ruling.

Prima facie and burden of proof

In most legal proceedings, one of the parties has the burden of proof
Burden of proof

The burden of proof is the obligation to shift the assumed conclusion away from an oppositional opinion to one's own position . The burden of proof may only be fulfilled by evidence....
, which requires that party to present prima facie evidence of all facts essential to its case. If that party fails to present prima facie evidence on any required element of its case, its claim may be dismissed without any response by the opposing party. A prima facie case may be insufficient to enable a party to prevail if the opposing party introduces contradictory evidence or asserts an affirmative defense
Affirmative defense

An affirmative defense is a category of defense used in litigation between private parties in common law jurisdictions, or, more familiarly, a type of defense raised in criminal law by the defendant....
. Sometimes the introduction of prima facie evidence is informally called making a case or building a case.

For example, in a criminal
Criminal law

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply....
 prosecution, the prosecution has the burden of presenting prima facie evidence of each element of the crime charged. In a murder
Murder

Murder as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide....
 case, this would include evidence that the victim was in fact dead, that the defendant's act caused the death, and evidence that the defendant acted with malice aforethought
Malice Aforethought

Malice Aforethought is a murder mystery novel written by Anthony Berkeley Cox, using the pen name Francis Iles. It involves a Devon physician who slowly poisons his domineering wife so that he may be with the woman he loves....
. If the prosecution were to fail to introduce such evidence, then its case would fail on grounds of "failure to make out a prima facie case," even without rebuttal by the defendant. This evidence need not be conclusive or irrefutable: at this stage, evidence rebutting the case is not considered, only whether the prosecution case has enough merit to take to a full trial.

In some jurisdictions such as the United Kindgom, the prosecution in a criminal trial must disclose all evidence to the defence. This includes the prima facie evidence.

Prima facie and res ipsa loquitur

Prima facie is often confused with res ipsa loquitur
Res ipsa loquitur

Res ipsa loquitur is a legal term from the Latin meaning, "the thing itself speaks" but is more often translated "the thing speaks for itself." It signifies that further details are unnecessary; the proof of the case is self-evident....
 ("the thing speaks for itself"), the common law legal doctrine that when the facts suggest that negligence
Negligence

Negligence is a Law concept in the common law legal systems usually used to achieve compensation for injuries . Negligence is a type of tort or delict ....
 or responsibility for some matter is self-evident, it is not necessary for a plaintiff to provide extraneous details, since "the thing speaks for itself".

The difference between the two is that prima facie is a term meaning the matter seems obvious and self-explanatory. Res ipsa loquitur is the legal argument that because it is so obvious, the plaintiff can stop their explanation there and does not have to provide any further in-depth details to prove liability, because it "speaks for itself". Example:

"There is a prima facie case that the defendant is liable. They controlled the pump. The pump was left on and flooded the plaintiff's house. The plaintiff was away and had left the house in the control of the defendant. Res ipsa loquitur."


Other uses and references

The phrase prima facie is sometimes misspelled in the mistaken belief that is the actual Latin word; however, the word is in fact facies (fifth declension
Latin declension

Latin is an Inflection language, and as such has nouns, pronouns, and adjectives that must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. A set of declined forms of the same word pattern is called a declension....
), of which facie is the ablative.

The phrase is very commonly used, in exactly the same sense, in academic philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 as well. Among the most notable uses of it in that discipline is the theory of ethics
Ethics

Ethics is a word for a philosophy that encompasses proper conduct and good living. It is significantly broader than the common conception of ethics as the analyzing of right and wrong....
 first proposed by W. D. Ross
W. D. Ross

Sir David Ross Order of the British Empire was a Scotland philosopher, known for work in ethics. His best known work is The Right and the Good , and he is perhaps best known for developing a ethical pluralism, deontology form of Ethical intuitionism ethics in response to George Edward Moore's Ethical intuitionism....
, often called the Ethic of Prima Facie Duties, as well as in epistemology
Epistemology

Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It addresses the questions:...
, as used, e.g. by Robert Audi
Robert Audi

Robert Audi is a philosopher whose major work has focused on epistemology, ethics?especially on Ethical intuitionism, and the theory of action....
. It is generally used in reference to an obligation. "I have a prima facie obligation to keep my promise and meet my friend" means that I am under an obligation but this may yield to a more pressing duty. A more modern usage prefers the title ‘pro tanto obligation’: an obligation inasmuch as there is this or that aspect of the situation, but again suspending the all-in verdict.

See also

  • Burden of proof
    Burden of proof

    The burden of proof is the obligation to shift the assumed conclusion away from an oppositional opinion to one's own position . The burden of proof may only be fulfilled by evidence....
  • List of Latin phrases
    List of Latin phrases

    This page lists direct English language translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni, vidi, vici and et cetera. Some of the phrases are themselves translations of List of Greek phrases, as Greek language rhetoric and literature were highly regarded in ancient Rome when Latin rhetoric and literature were still maturing....
  • Probable cause
    Probable cause

    In United States criminal law, probable cause refers to the standard by which a police officer has the right to make an arrest, conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest....