Circumstantial Evidence Theory And Its Findings Of Fact

The theories of indirect evidence is always most attractive and complicated in evidence area. But the unanimous perspective on indirect evidence has not come into being so far. The doctrine and practice of indirect evidence is related closely to the judgment of case correctly, so it becomes a most significant problem in research of evidence law, especially in the background of our contemporary proof practice in China.This dissertation is divided into five chapters.Chapter one mainly talks about sorts of the basic theories on indirect evidence, including the definition, classification and other fundamental problems of indirect evidence. According to the other scholars' perspectives, the indirect evidence refers to the evidence which should draw support from other evidence to testify principal fact by the way of inference. But the author thinks that the indirect evidence refers to the evidence which testifies the principal fact of case only by the way of inference. Combining with the other evidence to testify the principal fact is not the necessary factor of definition on indirect evidence. There are two points that must be paid attention to on understanding the concept of indirect evidence. The first one, we must uphold that the principal fact of case consists of two factors, one is "who" commits the crime, the other is "what" crime (has been committed), The second one, it is the "inference" which must be resort to testify the principal fact.Indirect evidence apparently differs from circumstantial evidence. We should strictly distinguish "the indirect evidence" with "the indirect fact", the former is the reasoning basis of the latter. Circumstantial evidence refers to either "indirect evidence" or " indirect fact " which has been testified by "indirect evidence".In Continental Law Legal System, the indirect evidence could be commonly classified into three types, which are the indirect evidences emerging before mala prohibita (act of crime), during mala prohibita and after mala prohibita. But in Anglo-America Law System, the indirect evidence could be often divided into the other three types, which are oral indirect evidence, real indirect evidence and documentary indirect evidence.