What a trial is.

A trial is the demonstration of a doubtful matter by lawful documents.

If the accused confesses, there is no need for a trial.

What [therefore] is the need to bring a cause to trial if the accused makes the matter clear and undoubted by his confession? Therefore no trial is to be sought when the accused admits to the main point charged against him.

The right to a trial is to be extended rather than restricted, so that the truth may be elucidated in all causes.

Kinds of trials.

Therefore whether trials are held by witnesses, instruments, presumptions, [indications judgments] or and report, a wise judge (who has an important part to play in this, we think), will easily figure out, (after weighing the circumstances of the matters and persons), how much of what each one says is to be believed.

For a judge must not limit himself to one type of proof, but by using the right intuition of his mind, he shall figure out what to believe and what appears to be unproved, since he understands that often many things are convincing when taken together, but the same things are unpersuasive when taken one at a time.

Probatio non est admittenda, nisi reo praesente, aut per contumaciam absente.

Quanquam vi/ero iudici, et non parti, fides facienda sit, [n/v]olumus tamen aliquod probationis genus adversus q… aliquem admitti vel exhiberi, nisi ips[e/o] aut praesens fuerit, aut per contumaciam absens.

Probatio facienda est in iudicio [et] coram iudice.

Probatio recipienda est coram iudice, et in iudicio, non extra iudicium, neque coram notario aut tabellione.

Actori non reo interest probare.

Actore non probante, reus (etiam si nihil praestiterit), absolvendus est, nisi tantae adversus [155r] absolvendus est, nisi tantae adversus ipsum praesumptiones insurgant, ut in eum probationes transferr[e/i] poss[w/i]nt. Alioqui enim non convenit, ut actore palam profitente, se probare non posse quod asseveravit, re﹛r﹜um necessitate monstrandi contrarium astringat; cum per rerum naturam factum negantis nulla probatio sit. In negativis tamen, coarctatis loco et tempor[i/e], veterem modum probandi observari volumus.