A presumption is a conclusion which
may or must be drawn from a given set of facts until the contrary is proved. The
existence of a presumption will or may relief a party of the burden of proving
certain facts. Though, the term presumption is not found under the Evidence Act
we can look at the term in two broad senses.
The
first is that it is a conclusion which is drawn on a matter before the contrary
is proved. Secondly, it may denote a conclusion that a fact called a “presumed
fact” exist which must be drawn if some other fact called “basic fact” is
proved or admitted. It should be noted that the effect of presumptions
generally is to establish a fact as proved even though no evidence has been
offered in proof thereof. It is often said that, presumptions operate as
substitute for evidence.
For
example, if a basic fact that Mr. and Mrs. ‘A’ went through a ceremony of
marriage in a licensed place of worship exist; the presumption would be that
they are husband and wife. Another example is that if the basic fact that a
party has absented himself or herself from the other spouse for seven years
without communication and all reasonable searches have been conducted but to no
avail is proved or admitted it will be presumed that such a spouse is dead.©Onyekachi Duru Esq and www.legalemperors.com, 2016. (All Rights Reserved) Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Onyekachi Duru Esq and www.legalemperors.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.