Abstract
The paper analyzes the Czech approach to the standard of proof in civil litigation. What level of probative value must be reached in civil disputes in order to consider a fact proven? After summarizing the developments of the past decades (including the rigorous insistence on the "material truth" during the communist era), attention is paid to the recent disagreement between the Czech Supreme and Constitutional Courts.
Whereas the first one strictly asserted the absolutized standard of proof in form of high certainty without any trace of doubt, the later attempted to break through this threshold by admitting probability as a legitimate factor within the evidence procedure. It is argued that both these attitudes seem to disregard the subjective approach to evaluating evidence which has been traditionally well respected in the Czech doctrine.
However, the subjective approach requires a more structured scaling - to link evidentiary demands to the factual framework of the case, especially in terms of factual presumptions which should be procedurally translated into the concept of prima facie proof.