Truth and Efficiency in Civil Litigation

In the pursuit of justice, truth always plays a prominent role. Few if any legal systems are willing to waive the right to claim that the results of their legal processes are fair, just and above all based on the truth. In most legal systems, elaborate rules on the taking of evidence try to guarantee that an accurate, factual basis is used for the application of the law. Such rules are the core of most methods of adjudication and they are the main theme of the present volume, which focuses specifically on the rules of evidence within the context of efficiency in civil proceedings. This is not without a reason. Apart from the fact that a link between the pursuit of truth and efficiency has been emphasised since the time of ancient Rome, all legal systems must find the right balance between the amount of time and money invested in the civil trial and the thoroughness of the proof-taking stage in litigation. Obviously, a system of proof that can produce trustworthy results is in need of considerable investment of time and resources, but the amount of time available and resources is not without its limits. If a proper balance between truth and the necessary time and resources cannot be found, the whole process of litigation may be endangered.