Evidence Evaluatione

This dissertation probes into a series of relevant issues on evidence law with the perspective of evidence evaluation. Based on plenty of research achievements by other scholars, the author launches a synthetic and deductive study on the topic and proposes many innovative perspectives. There are totally six chapters, which are comprehensive comments and discussions on relevant definition, theoretical foundations, basic principles, basic structure and evaluation mechanism respectively. The final part summarizes practical proposals based on the theory of evidence evaluation.Chapter One“A Generalization of Evidence Evaluation”consists of four sections. These four sections discuss the subject, object, contents and other issues of the theory of evidence evaluation respectively. At the last part of the Chapter, the author summarizes the essential contents of evidence evaluation. Section One“Essence of Evidence Evaluation”distinguishes the definitions of evidence evaluation, evidence appraisal and evidence judgment. It also explains the essential connotation of evidence evaluation. Section Two“Subject of Evidence Evaluation”stresses the view that evidence evaluation should center on judicial proceedings and discusses the qualifications for a judge’s role as the subject of evidence evaluation. Section Three“Object of Evidence Evaluation”starts with the detailed analysis on the definitions of evidence and evidential information and elaborates evidential qualification and the truthfulness, relevancy and lawfulness of evidence with a new perspective. Section Four“Contents of Evidence Evaluation”, distinguishes and discusses the proof capability and strength of proof.Chapter Two is“Theoretical Foundation of Evidence Evaluation”. It consists of three sections. Section One“Procedural Epistemology”states the epistemic foundation of the theory of evidence evaluation. Based on the epistemology of Dialectical Materialism, it emphasizes the distinctive feature of procedural epistemology and summarizes the features of relativity, subjectivity and restrictiveness of individual judge’s epistemology. It also stresses the importance of the procedural epistemology’s validity construction and thus points out that the dual cores of validity construction are the theory of due process and the evaluation theory between value election and benefit evaluation. Section Two“The Theory of Due Process”summarizes the core factors of due process, based on the introduction of the history of due process and evolution of its contents. (These core factors are“procedure is determined by law”,“procedural fairness and justice”,“procedural openness”,“procedural resolution of disputes”and procedural remedies&sanctions.) This section also emphasizes the importance of the construction of the system of rule judgment and summarizes the procedural requirements of evidence evaluation. Section Three“The Theory of Benefit Evaluation”proposes an important alternative to adjudication of a case where the truthfulness and falsity of fact cannot be determined. It also briefly discusses the methods of benefit evaluation.Chapter Three“Basic Principles of Evidence Evaluation”consists of four sections. It explains the basic connotations of the principle of objectivity and justice, the principle of reasoning judgment, the principle of comprehensive evaluation and the principle of open reasoning respectively and probes into the problems of these principles in the practice. Then it summarizes these principles’utility in evidence evaluation and discusses these principles’important functions in evidence evaluation.Chapter Four“The Basic Structure of Evidence Evaluation”consists of seven sections and outlines the general structure of evidence evaluation. Section One“Cornerstone of Evidence Evaluation”points out the historical inevitability from the god directed judgment to evidential judgment and emphasizes the essential role of the system of evidential judgment. Section Two“Ways of Evidence Evaluation”stresses the importance of judge’s internal conviction. Based on the developments and comparisons of the systems of evidence determined by law and evidence determined by the judge’s internal conviction, this section proposes the regulative theory of judge’s internal conviction in our country. Section Three“Basic Methods of Evidence Evaluation”synthetically elaborates empirical principles and judicial notice, logical rules and judicial inference, benefit evaluation and judicial generalization. It also demonstrates the connotations and extensions of judicial notice, inference and generalization with a new perspective. Section Four“Proof Standard of Evidence Evaluation”first compares the definitions of proof, procedural proof and judicial proof and adjusts the perspective into the definition of procedural proof under the guidance of the principle of identity in the study of logics. (This adjustment inevitably brings in adjustments in the definitions of burden of proof, proof standard and other relevant terms.) It then systematically discusses the reasons and basis for the standard“beyond reasonable doubt”as the proof standard. Section Five“Inevitable Goal of Evidence Evaluation”analyzes the relationship of objective truthfulness and legal truthfulness and stresses the importance of objective truthfulness as the directive guidance of evidence evaluation. Section Six“Practical Outcome of Evidence Evaluation”discusses in depth the objectivity, absoluteness, subjectivity and relativity of evaluative facts and points out the correct ways to evaluate the facts in the circumstance of restrictiveness in practical operation.Chapter Five“Operative Mechanism of Evidence Evaluation”consists of four sections. It comprehensively utilizes the knowledge of Philosophy, Logics, Information study, Semiotics and other fields, analyzes in detail the general process of evidence evaluation, and reveals its whole operative mechanism. From objective fact to subjective fact, Section One probes into the dual features of the fact based on two levels between philosophy and logics and explains people’s misunderstandings of facts with analysis of its reasons. From evidence to information, Section two introduces the definition of recognizable factor and demonstrates the important role of recognizable factor in the process from evidence to information. From information to symbol, Section Three systematically discusses the evolution process of information and symbol, their respective nature and features. In the perspective of relative relationship between people and information or symbol, this section also demonstrates the whole process from information to symbol. From symbol to proposition and evaluative fact, Section Four analyzes the relationship between symbol and proposition, between evidence, fact and proposition, between proposition and evaluative fact. It also demonstrates the whole evaluation process from evidence to evaluative fact.Based on the theory of evidence evaluation, Chapter Six“Practical Proposals with the Perspective of the Theory of Evidence Evaluation”explains several important issues in the practice by adding the finishing touch and points out the right direction for future research and study.