Presumption Flashcards
How does the act define presumption??
The Evidence Act contains no direct definition of the term presumption. The definition or meaning of presumption must be read from the provisions of Section 145 (2) of the Evidence Act which provides that:
“Whenever it is provided by this Act that the court may presume a fact, it may regard such fact as proved unless and until it is disproved, or may call for proof of it.”
From the provision of 145 (2). an inference can be drawn that presumption means that, courts must draw certain conclusions in certain circumstances, unless the contrary is proved. Therefore, where no proof of the contrary is demonstrated in circumstances provided for in the Evidence Act, the court must take certain facts as proven.
What does section 145 (1) state
From the provisions of Section 145 (I), it is dear that it is not in all cases that the court shall draw conclusive proof in the absence of evidence to the contrary. This is because Section 145 (1) of the Evidence Act allows the court to exercise a discretion to call for proof of certain evidence or facts, which it had a choice to draw a presumption upon.
Definition of Presumption
PRESUMPTION OF FACT
A presumption of fact is defined as to mean the logical inference of the existence of other facts, i.e. if certain facts exist, certain deductions must be made from these facts.
In section 167 of the evidence act it was stated that the court may presume……..
Section 167 of the Evidence Act provides that the court may presume the existence of any fact which it deems likely to have happened, regard shall be had to the common course of natural events, human conduct and public and private business, in their relationship to the facts of the particular case and in particular, the court may presume that:
What does section 167(a) state about good stolen
Section 167 (a)- A man who is in possession of stolen goods soon after the theft is either a thief or has received the goods knowing them to be stolen, unless he can account for his possession; See the case of Eze v State (1992) . This is known as the Doctrine of Recent Possession. See Udoh v State (1993) ,Nwachukwu v State
For section 167(a) to apply what must be available
i. The accused person was found in possession of some goods.
il. That such goods were ‘RECENTLY’ stolen
il. That the accused could not offer any satisfactory explanation of why he was in possession of the
goods.
But if the accused was found with the goods, after sufficient effect of effluxion of time, he may guilty……..
But if the accused was found with the goods, after sufficient effect of effluxion of time, he may guilty of receiving but not stealing. RvPalmer Iyakwe (1944)
What is presumption by law
Presumption of law simply means a presumption prescribed by law and which must be drawn in the absence of any evidence to the contrary. Presumption of law refers to the conclusions that can be deduced from the given set of fact that are prescribed or stipulated by law and must always be drawn as the inevitable consequence of these facts
