Fact finding beyond all reasonable doubt--legal aspects

Abstract

A description is provided of the European (esp. German and Austrian) legal concept of "fact finding beyond all reasonable doubt". The uncontested principle of the free evaluation of evidence is closely connected with the dispute about the "probative standard" (= this means the degree of the judge's conviction which is necessary for the fact finding). There can neither be a purely subjective nor a purely objective theory of the probative standard. Because of the human limits of possible perception and of the subjective cognitive faculties the total conviction of truth as demanded by the "conviction-of-truth-theory" could never mean absolute certainty. It is sufficient if "no other reasonable man with a clear view of the conditions of life would be convinced". On the other hand, the objective theory, which sees the judge's task only in consideration of probabilities, becomes more and more important. As a third principle, there is the preponderance principle influenced by the Anglo-American system.