Abstract:
Judicial presumption plays an important role in the penal confirmation. Not only is it regarded as one of the main props to reach a fair judgment, but it is also considered as a principal, complementary, and even an enhancive evidence for the other evidence. Besides, judicial presumption has an effective role in the manifestation of the credibility of other proofs in the same lawsuit. Realizing the importance of the judicial presumption, the Jordanian legislator adopted it, and it was also adopted by the judicature and jurisprudence.
This dissertation is devided into three chapters. The first chapter deals with the definition of the presumption and its kinds. The second chapter deals with the principle of conscience conviction and the importance of penal confirmation in the judicial presumption. The role of judicial presumption in the penal confirmation was the subject matter of chapter three.
It should be noted that there is no specific definition of judicial presumption in the Jordanian Procedural Penal Code. Yet, it was mentioned in Arts.(40, 43) of the Jordanian Evidence Code. However, the Jordanian Court of Cassation has defined presumption in many of its decisions. The Jordanian judicature as well as the comparative, allowed reliance on presumption as such, and they considered it as a perfect evidence in and by itself, in the penal confirmation.
The study recommends that the Procedural Penal Code state a general definition for the presumption, and a specific one for both legal and judicial presumptions. It also recommends that judges be given an authority to extract presumption according to the circumstances of each case, and never resort to legal presumption unless it is necessary.