Burden and standard of proof

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1951

Principle established: In malicious prosecution, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving absence of reasonable and probable cause, and malice is necessarily inferred when the prosecutor knowingly suborns perjured evidence.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1950-56

Principle established: In malicious prosecution, the plaintiff bears the burden of proving absence of reasonable and probable cause, and malice is necessarily inferred when the prosecutor knowingly suborns perjured evidence.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: In a negligence claim against a manufacturer, the burden of proof is not discharged if the evidence shows the injury was equally consistent with causes other than the defendant's negligence.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1961

Principle established: The burden of proof in criminal cases rests solely on the prosecution, and any shifting of the burden to the accused to establish innocence vitiates a conviction.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1961

Principle established: Adultery in divorce proceedings requires strict proof beyond reasonable doubt, and prior condonation of cruelty is revived and cancelled by subsequent acts of cruelty.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1961

Principle established: Adultery must be proved beyond reasonable doubt under the criminal standard of proof, and condonation of marital cruelty is cancelled by subsequent acts of cruelty.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1970

Principle established: Adultery in divorce proceedings requires strict proof above the ordinary civil standard, and the presumption of legitimacy is rebuttable by evidence of long separation between the spouses.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1970-71

Principle established: In a divorce suit, adultery requires strict proof beyond the standard usually applicable in civil proceedings, and the presumption of a child's legitimacy is rebutted by proof of prolonged separation.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: An employee is prima facie liable for loss of or damage to employer property entrusted to their care, and summary dismissal is justified unless the employee proves absence of negligence.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: The party propounding a will executed under suspicious circumstances, such as by an illiterate testator, bears the burden of proving that the testator knew, approved of, and voluntarily executed its contents.

Malawi · 2026

Principle established: In election petitions, once official electoral documents are produced, the evidential burden shifts to the Electoral Commission to account for them or challenge their authenticity.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1961

Principle established: A judge may overrule a submission of no case where evidence supports the claim, and complex accounts may be referred to an independent qualified professional accountant.

Kenya · 2025

Principle established: Battered woman syndrome is not a stand-alone legal defense but may be raised in aid of existing defenses, with the burden on the defense to establish its existence and extent.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: Any clear and exclusive possession of land exercised with the intention to possess, or a valid documentary title derived from a person rightfully in possession, is sufficient to maintain an action for trespass.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1957

Principle established: The burden of proving the creation of a tenancy rests on the party asserting it, and holding over with acceptance of rent is merely evidence, not conclusive proof, of a periodic tenancy.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1957-60

Principle established: Holding over and paying rent are not conclusive proof of a periodic tenancy, but rent restriction legislation protects former tenants continuing in occupation without legal right.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1967

Principle established: When the maxim res ipsa loquitur is established, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant against whom the presumption of negligence is raised.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1967-68

Principle established: Where the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to disprove negligence.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1961

Principle established: A candidate's genealogical descent required for paramount chieftaincy cannot be established by insufficient and uncorroborated hearsay evidence.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1964-66

Principle established: The policyholder bears the burden of proving that an insured motor vehicle was being used for a permitted purpose contemplated by the policy at the time of an accident.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An insured merchant's credible list of lost merchandise compiled from memory is sufficient evidence to satisfy the burden of proof regarding fire insurance claims.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An insured merchant's credible list of lost merchandise compiled from memory is sufficient evidence to satisfy the burden of proof regarding fire insurance claims.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1982

Principle established: An out-of-court statement by an accused person is generally inadmissible against a co-accused unless adopted, but a judge sitting alone is not required to explicitly warn himself of this rule in the judgment.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1972-73

Principle established: A defendant who pleads the defence of inevitable accident in a negligence action bears the burden of proving that the accident occurred without any negligence or intention on their part.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1963

Principle established: An election to paramount chieftaincy will not be invalidated for lack of qualification where the evidence sufficiently establishes the candidate's descent from a ruling house.

Sierra Leone — Court of Appeal · 1963

Principle established: An election to paramount chieftaincy is upheld where there is sufficient evidence proving the candidate's descent from a ruling house.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1961

Principle established: Allegations of adultery in divorce proceedings must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and condoned cruelty is revived by subsequent acts of cruelty.

Sierra Leone — Supreme Court · 1967

Principle established: A husband's voluntary sexual intercourse with his wife conclusively establishes condonation of her misconduct in the absence of fraud, and cruelty in divorce proceedings must be proved on a balance of probabilities.

Sierra Leone — African Law Reports · 1967-68

Principle established: Cruelty in a divorce petition is proved on a balance of probabilities, and voluntary sexual intercourse conclusively establishes condonation of marital misconduct by a husband.