Beweisgrundlage

Beweisgrundlage (evidence basis) is a legal term describing the factual foundation on which a decision-maker's conclusions rest. In German-speaking legal systems, civil, criminal, and administrative decisions must be grounded in facts that have been brought before the court and established through admissible evidence. The Beweisgrundlage comprises the factual elements that the court finds proven or credibly supported by the evidence submitted during proceedings, such as documents, witness statements, expert opinions, physical exhibits, and inspection results.

Evidence is gathered through Beweisaufnahme (evidence-taking), where parties may present, challenge, and supplement testimony and documents. The court then performs Beweiswürdigung, a process of evaluating credibility, relevance, and sufficiency of the evidence to determine whether the facts are established. The Beweisgrundlage is not created by the court’s own knowledge and may not be based on undisclosed or improperly obtained information.

The burden of proof and the applicable standard of proof help determine which facts must be established to form the Beweisgrundlage. The Beweisgrundlage and the legal grounds (Rechtsgrundlage) together determine the outcome of a case, but they concern different aspects: facts versus the law.

The concept is chiefly used in German law but has parallels in other jurisdictions under different terminology. In practice, accuracy and transparency in Beweisgrundlage contribute to the legitimacy and predictability of judicial decisions.