Private Law Theory

INTRODUCTION
The standard of proof in civil cases, usually defined as proof on ‘the balance of probabilities’, might seem a straightforward concept and perhaps rather a dull one. My aim in this essay is to show that it is neither and that it gives rise to some intriguing questions about the nature of probability and proof. After outlining the historical evolution of the civil standard of proof, I will discuss its rationale and the now discredited notion that the standard is flexible. I will then consider the nature of the probabilities which the standard requires courts to balance and the relevance or otherwise of the mathematical theory of probability. My final topic is the relationship between the standard and burden of proof …

€ (Westlaw)

George Leggatt, ‘Black marbles, blue buses and yellow submarines: an essay on the civil standard and burden of proof’, (2024) 140(Oct) Law Quarterly Review 570-594.