A Comparison of Fact-Finding Methodology in Evidence Law and History

On the issue of fact-finding or knowledge acquisition, both history and law belong to the field of evidence science. They share the same research objects, use roughly the same method of evidential reasoning, follow the same general rules of fact-finding and face the same scientific and technological challenges. At the same time, there are obvious differences between the two in terms of research purposes, time limits and results. The process of fact-finding in historical study and judicial trials both require interpretation of evidence. On the premise of opposing factual constructionism, the law of evidence emphasizes that there must be a certain relationship between factual premise and judgment conclusion, and it uses the holistic accounts method of IBE instead of formalistic interpretation of evidence, thus revealing the essence of judicial proof and the value orientation of fundamental rights protection.