It is expressed by the
maxim of law[2]omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta donec probetur in contrarium,[3] which may be shortened to omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta[4] or omnia praesumuntur rite esse acta.[5]
Official actions
Where it has been proved that an "official act" has been done, it will be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the said act "complied with any necessary formalities" and that the person who did it was "duly appointed".[6][7]
Campbell v Wallsend Shipway and Engineering Co Ltd [1977] Crim LR 351,
DC
Dillon v R [1982] AC 484, [1982] 2 WLR 538, [1982] 1 All ER 1017, 74 Cr App R 274, [1982] Crim LR 438,
PC
Gage v Jones [1983] RTR 508, DC
Kynaston v Director of Public Prosecutions, 87 Cr App R 200, DC
Business transactions
Where it has been proved that "necessary business transactions" have been carried out, it will be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that the said transactions were carried out in the order (if any) that they are required to be carried out.[9] See Eaglehill Ltd v J Needham (Builders) Ltd [1973] AC 992,
HL.
Mechanical contraptions
Where it has been proved that a "mechanical device" is normally in "good working order", it will be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that it was in good working order on any relevant occasion.[10] See Tingle Jacobs & Co v Kennedy [1964] 1 WLR 638,
CA
References
^For this name, see Cooper, Simon & Murphy, Peter & Beaumont, John. Cases & Materials on Evidence. Fourth Edition. Oxford University Press. 1994. p. 86
^For this version, see Simon Cooper, Peter Murphy, & John Beaumont, Cases & Materials on Evidence, 4th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994), 86.