Legal Term for on Its Face

The external appearance or surface of anything; which is easy for a viewer to see. Words contained in a document in their clear or obvious sense, regardless of external evidence or facts. The difference between the two is that prima facie is a term that means that there is enough evidence to answer a case, while res ipsa loquitur means that the facts are so obvious that one party no longer needs to explain itself. For example: «There is prima facie evidence that the defendant is liable. They controlled the pump. The pump was left on and flooded the applicant`s home. The plaintiff was absent and had left the house in the care of the defendant. Res ipsa loquitur. (Pry-Mah Fay-Shah) adj. Latin for «prima facie» or «prima facie» and refers to a prosecution or prosecution where there is sufficient pre-trial evidence to prove the case, unless substantial contradictory evidence is presented at trial. Prima facie evidence submitted by the prosecutor`s office to a grand jury leads to an indictment.

Example: In the case of a bad cheque charge, proving that half a dozen cheques were written in a non-existent bank account makes it prima facie evidence. However, evidence that the bank improperly printed the account number on the checks could refute the prosecutor`s apparently «open and closed» case. The term is most often used in business law to refer to the obvious meaning of a contract, paper, invoice, bond, registration or any other such legal document. A document may appear valid at first glance, but circumstances may change or explain it, and its meaning or validity may be altered. The term prima facie is used in modern legal English (including civil law and criminal law) to indicate that on first examination, there appears to be sufficient corroborating evidence to support a case. In common law systems, a reference to a prima facie case is evidence that, if not refuted, would be sufficient to prove a particular statement or fact. [3] The term is used similarly in academic philosophy. [2] Most court proceedings in most jurisdictions require a prima facie case, after which proceedings may be initiated to review and render judgment. [3] Prima facie (/ˌpraɪmə ˈfeɪʃi, -ʃə, -ʃiiː/; from Latin prīmā faciē) is a Latin expression that at first glance[1] means or is based on first impressions.

[2] The literal translation would be «at first sight» or «at first appearance», from the feminine forms of primus («first») and facies («face»), both in the ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be «at first glance». In most court proceedings, the burden of proof rests with a party who requires him to provide prima facie evidence of all the essential facts of his case. If this is not possible, their appeal may be dismissed without the need for a reply from other parties. [4] A prima facie case cannot stand or fall on its own; If an opposing party presents further evidence or asserts a positive defence, this can only be reconciled with a full procedure. Sometimes the introduction of prima facie evidence is informally referred to as reasoning or case building. The term prima facie is sometimes misspelled prima facia in the erroneous belief that facia is the actual Latin word; However, faciē is actually the ablative of faciēs, a Latin name of the fifth declension. Prima facie evidence need not be conclusive or irrefutable: at this stage, evidence refuting the case is not considered, but only the question of whether a party`s case has sufficient value to bring it to a full trial.

For example, in criminal proceedings, the prosecution has a duty to provide prima facie case of each element of the offence with which the accused is charged. In a murder case, this would include evidence that the victim was indeed dead, that the accused`s act caused death, and that the defendant acted with malicious intent. If no party presents new evidence, the case is upheld or dismissed only on prima facie evidence or lack of prima facie evidence. What is clear and obvious through the inspection, or the clear words that are written. It is generally used to describe a law or bill whose words themselves are clearly unconstitutional. In common law jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the prosecution must disclose all evidence of the defence in a criminal case. This includes prima facie evidence. In the theory of political debate, prima facie is used to describe the mandates or elements of a positive case or, in rare cases, a negative counter-plan. If the negative team invokes prima facie the fact, it invokes the fact that the affirmative team cannot add or modify anything in its plan after it has been made in the first positive constructive statement. A common use of the term is the concept of «prima facie speed limit» used in Australia and the United States. A prima facie speed limit is a standard speed limit that applies when no other specific speed limit is specified and can be exceeded by a driver.

However, if the driver is identified and reported by the police for exceeding the limit, the onus is on the driver to prove that the speed at which he was travelling was safe under the circumstances. In most countries, this type of speed limit has been replaced by absolute speed limits. One of the objectives of prima facie doctrine is to prevent litigants from making false accusations that only waste the time of all other parties. In Canadian tort law, this doctrine has been encompassed into the general law of negligence. [5] The term is also used in academic philosophy. Among its most notable applications is the theory of ethics, first developed by W. D. Ross was proposed in his book The Right and the Good, often called prima facie ethics of duties, as well as in epistemology, such as those used by Robert Audi.

It is usually used as part of an obligation. «I have a prima facie obligation to keep my promise and meet my friend» means that I am obliged, but this may lead to a more urgent duty. A more modern usage favours the obligation of title pro-tanto: one obligation which can then be abolished by another, more urgent one; It exists only pro tempore. Supported by Black`s Law Dictionary, Free 2nd ed., and The Law Dictionary. Prima facie is often confused with res ipsa loquitur («the thing speaks for itself» or literally «the thing itself speaks»), the common law doctrine that if the facts clearly show that negligence or other liability rests with a party, superfluous details need not be provided, as any reasonable person would immediately find out the facts of the case.