Legal Definitions - pro veritate accipitur

Pro veritate accipitur is a Latin phrase that translates to "is held or received as the truth."

In legal and historical contexts, this principle means that certain facts, statements, or documents are presumed to be true or accepted as accurate without requiring explicit proof, often due to their nature, origin, or long-standing acceptance. It signifies that something is taken at face value as truthful until compelling evidence proves otherwise.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Official Government Records

  Imagine a very old, officially sealed government record, such as a land deed from the 18th century, that has been meticulously preserved in a national archive. If this document is presented in a modern legal dispute concerning property boundaries, its contents would generally be pro veritate accipitur. The court would likely accept the information within the deed as true due to its official origin, age, and lack of any signs of tampering, rather than requiring someone to re-prove every detail of its creation.

• Example 2: Final Court Judgments

  When a court of law issues a final judgment in a case, for instance, declaring a specific person to be the rightful owner of a business, the conclusions and factual findings within that judgment are typically pro veritate accipitur in any subsequent related legal proceedings. Unless the judgment is successfully appealed or directly challenged on grounds of fraud, other courts or parties involved are expected to accept the truth of what the judgment states, as it represents a definitive legal determination.

• Example 3: Expert Scientific Reports

  Consider a comprehensive report published by a highly respected and independent scientific body, like the National Academy of Sciences, detailing the effects of climate change. When policymakers or other researchers refer to this report, its findings are often treated as pro veritate accipitur. The scientific community and the public generally accept the report's conclusions as true due to the rigorous methodology, peer review process, and the collective expertise of the scientists involved, without needing to re-verify every experiment or data point themselves.