Art. 301 Scope of Chapter

This rule explains when and how a set of evidence rules about presumptions apply in civil court cases. A presumption is a legal assumption that something is true unless someone proves otherwise. This rule does not create any new presumptions on its own. Instead, it explains how existing presumptions and similar types of proof should work in court, like how strong they are and what it takes to overcome them.

This rule only applies to civil cases, not criminal cases. It also does not apply if another, more specific law already covers the same situation. In that case, the specific law wins out.

The rule also makes clear that it does not affect situations that mix questions of law and fact together. One example is a legal idea called res ipsa loquitur, which lets a jury assume someone was careless just because of how an accident happened, even without direct proof. This rule does not change how that concept works.