“Prima facie” is a Latin term that is commonly used in law to refer to evidence or facts that are sufficient to establish a fact or raise a presumption of fact until contradicted by other evidence.
In simpler terms, prima facie means “at first sight” or “on its face.” When something is said to be prima facie true, it means that it appears to be true based on the available evidence, but further investigation or evidence may reveal otherwise.
For example, a plaintiff in a lawsuit might present prima facie evidence of wrongdoing by providing enough evidence to support their case, but the defendant could still present evidence to contradict the plaintiff’s claims.
In a legal context, the concept of prima facie evidence means that a party who has presented sufficient evidence to support their claim will be presumed to be correct until the other party presents evidence to rebut that claim.
So, if one party presents prima facie evidence of their claim, the burden of proof will then shift to the other party to present evidence to contradict or disprove the claim.
This means that if the opposing party does not provide evidence to refute the prima facie evidence, then the court may be compelled to accept the prima facie evidence as true and rule in favor of the party who presented it. However, the court will still evaluate all the evidence presented in the case before making a final decision.
