Do I Need to Adduce Evidence for All My Claims
Do I Need to Adduce Evidence for All My Claims
It is a basic principle in law that each party shall produce evidence in support of their claims. That means you bear the burden of proof for any of your assertions or statements. But in practice, it is infeasible or even impossible for you to prove a fact you claim.
For example, when you say that you haven't performed a certain act or done a certain thing, it is often impossible to prove your statement. What should you do in such a case?
In fact, you only need to state the fact and it is not your burden to prove it under such circumstances. This is because your opponent will deny your statement and claim a contradicting or an opposite fact. This grants you a right to request your opponent to prove his statement by providing valid evidence. And it is impossible for him to prove a "fact" that does not really exist or has not happened. For example, when you state the fact that you haven't hurt your opponent, you don't need to prove the truthfulness of your statement. And your opponent must provide evidence to prove that you did hurt him if he so asserts. In such a case, he wouldn't be able to provide any valid evidence. Even if he calls on a witness to testify against you, the testimony of the witness without other evidence is called "sole evidence" in the Chinese law and is inadmissible as the basis to prove a fact.
Another example is to prove "separation" in a divorce case. According to the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, separation of a husband and a wife for two years or more is a legal basis for granting their divorce. On many occasions, plaintiffs do not know how to prove the fact of separation. Similarly, a plaintiff filing for divorce only needs to state the fact that he/she has been living separately from his/her spouse for more than two years. If the defendant alleges that both spouses have been living together, it is the defendant's burden to prove the "fact". In such a case, it is impossible to prove the non-existent "fact" he/she claims.
In one word, try your best to shift the burden of proof to your opponent, and use a trick when necessary.
Robert Zhang 
Steve Li 