Burden of proof and standard of proof

Burden of proof and standard of proof

Burden of proof and standard of proof concern a typical question of Swiss family and procedural law. For the legal assessment, what matters is not catchwords or personal attributions, but the established facts, the applicable legal basis and the concrete effects of the requested or ordered measure.

Courts must distinguish between party submissions, documented facts, evidence and their own findings. An application does not yet prove the factual prerequisites for it. Conversely, a relevant, substantiated fact must not be disregarded solely because it was submitted by a party.

In family law, the child's best interests are central in matters concerning children. At the same time, procedural guarantees apply, such as the right to be heard, access to files, comprehensible reasoning and an appropriate evaluation of evidence. Interferences must be suitable, necessary and proportionate.

A good legal documentation therefore specifies the date, document type, author or official role, the content of the specific action and its procedural status. It avoids motives that are not substantiated, and explicitly indicates whether something is a party allegation, an official action, a judicial finding or an editorial classification.

For those affected it is frequently essential to keep their own chronology complete, to retain submissions and served documents and to pay attention to making clear requests. Where the situation changes, it must be examined whether new facts can still be introduced in the ongoing proceedings and which legal remedies are available.

Further articles

Editorial specialist article. Not individual legal advice. Before publication, the status of legislation and case law and the sources must be checked again.