证据法革新的框架

法治如同一种粘合剂,将社会各部分安稳地维系在一起.它给人们提供了途径,以便事先知晓权利和义务,并可围绕其进行协商.我拥有某样东西,你想要得到这样东西.你就需要与我就其价格进行洽谈而不能肆意地侵占.因此,在这个重要意义上,法律实际上是赋予了人们自由而非限制.人们习惯上将法治的价值主要归结于对权利及其相应义务的描绘.这种观点有一定道理,但其模糊了某些同等重要的因素,即：没有争议的准确解决——换言之,若没有准确的事实认定——权利和义务便都失去了意义.证据法有助于准确的事实认定,是法治中最为关键的一环;一部完善的证据法虽无法确保法治的实现,但却绝对是法治的必要组成部分.然而,构建完善的证据法绝非易事,因为证据规则属于诉讼理论的一部分;诉讼理论又包含于政府理论之中;而各国的政府理论可谓是千差万别.此外,对于如何最有效率和效果地寻找事实真相仍然存在分歧,且与之相关的是,当追求事实真相的价值与其它社会价值处于竞争关系时,孰优孰劣、如何取舍的问题也存在着分歧.最后,外行事实认定者（如陪审员）的参与会影响到诉讼程序的架构.总之,证据法至少要安置好五方面问题,即：架构问题、认识论问题、社会问题、管理问题和执行问题.

The Framework for the Reform of Evidence Law

The rule of law is a critical part of the glue that holds society together peacefully. It provides the means by which rights and obligations can be known in advance, and negotiated around. I own something. You want it. You need to negotiate with me over its price rather than just seize it arbitrarily. There is thus a critical sense in which the law, rather than being restraining, is liberating. The values of the rule of law are often attributed primarily to the articulation of rights and their reciprocal obligations. While true to an extent, this view obscures that without accurate resolution of disputes-without accurate fact finding, in other words-rights and obligations are meaningless. Evidence law that facilitates accurate fact finding is perhaps the most critical aspect of the rule of law; an appropri- ate law of evidence is not sufficient to ensure the rule of law, but it is necessary. Constructing appropriate evidence law is complicated, however, because rules of evidence are part of a theory of litigation; theories of litigation are part of a theory of government; and theories of government vary dramatically. In addition, there are disagreements about the most efficient and effective way to get to the truth, and relatedly the value of truth when it competes with other social goods. Finally, the presence of lay fact finders such as jurors may affect how the litigation process is otherwise structured. In sum, the law of evidence has at least the following five problems to resolve： the Organizational Problem, the Epistemological Problem, the Social Problem, the Governance Problem, and the Enforcement Problem.