TITLE IV. CONCERNING WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.

I.Concerning Persons who are not Permitted to Testify.
II.Witnesses shall not Testify except under Oath; Where both parties offer Witnesses which should be Believed; and Where a Witness Testifies Falsely.
III.Where a Witness Testifies Orally, and Written Evidence Contradicts Him.
IV.A Slave shall not be Believed unless he Belongs to the Crown; and When Royal Slaves shall be Believed.
V.A Witness shall not give His Testimony in Writing, but Orally, and How Testimony should be Given.
VI.Concerning Those who give False Testimony.
VII.Concerning Those who are Proved to have given False Testimony; and Concerning the Space of Six Months in which a Witness may be Declared Infamous. It shall not be Lawful to give Testimony concerning One who is Dead.
VIII.Concerning Those who Induce Others to give False Testimony; or Encourage the Slaves of Others to Seek their Liberty.
IX.In what Causes Slaves can Testify.
X.Concerning Those who Bind themselves in Writing, not to give True Testimony in the Causes of Others.
XI.At what Age Minors can Testify.
XII.A Near Relative, or a Kinsman, of a Party to a Suit, cannot give Testimony against a Stranger.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

I. Concerning Persons who are not Permitted to Testify.

Murderers, malefactors, thieves, criminals, poisoners, ravishers, perjurors, or those who are addicted to the practice of sorcery or divination, shall under no circumstances be permitted to testify.

II. Witnesses shall not Testify except under Oath; Where both parties offer Witnesses which should be Believed; and Where a Witness Testifies Falsely.

The judge, as soon as the cause is heard, the witnesses having been sworn according to law, shall render judgment. No witnesses shall be permitted to testify without having first been sworn. If evidence should be offered by both sides, its weight shall be duly considered, and the judge shall determine on which side it preponderates.

If any one, after having been warned by the judge, should refuse to testify concerning any matter within his knowledge; and should either say that he does not know the facts, and hesitates to take the oath, or should suppress the truth through favor to any one, or through bribery; if he is a person of noble rank, he shall not be permitted to give testimony afterwards in any cause in court, nor shall his testimony be taken in any proceeding whatever. But if he who refuses to testify, should be an ordinary citizen, or a person of inferior rank, he shall be considered infamous, and shall receive a hundred lashes; because it is no less criminal to suppress the truth, than to commit perjury.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

III. Where a Witness Testifies Orally, and Written Evidence Contradicts Him.

Whenever a witness testifies to something contrary to what is contained in any document, which he is known to have signed, although he may directly contradict the text of the document, the latter shall be preferred as evidence. But if witnesses should testify that the document offered is not valid, he who introduced it must confirm it by the testimony of witnesses; and if he cannot prove it by them, and by the production of other documents, the judge must require the witness who denies that it is in his hand, to write a similar document, in order that the truth may be the more readily established. And the judge shall make every effort to find other documents which may be compared with the one in question. And if all these efforts should fail, he shall not delay to make the witness swear that he had never signed the document; and if, afterwards, in any way it should become evident, that the latter had lied for the purpose of suppressing the truth, he shall be branded with the mark of infamy; and, if he is a person of high position, he shall be compelled to pay, by way of satisfaction, to the person affected by his false testimony, double the sum which the latter would have lost.[11] But if he is a person of inferior rank, and has not sufficient property wherewith to make amends, he shall never again be allowed to testify, and shall receive a hundred lashes with the scourge.

In regard to the two credible witnesses, whose evidence the authority of a former law declared should be received as sufficient; it must be required, not only that they should be reputable, that is, unquestionably freemen, but also of honorable rank and possessed of property. For care must be taken lest any one oppressed by poverty, and unable to bear his privations, should, without due reflection, perjure himself.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

IV. A Slave shall not be Believed unless He Belongs to the Crown; and When Royal Slaves shall be Believed.

A slave is not to be believed at all if he should try to prove any one else guilty of crime, or if he should endeavor to implicate his master in any offence. And even if he should be subjected to torture, and should confess what he has done, still he must not be believed; an exception, however, being made in the case of such slaves as have been transferred to the royal service, and are deservedly honored with the offices of the palace; that is to say, the chiefs of the grooms, of the fowlers, of the silversmiths, and of the cooks; or any besides these who are superior to them in rank or position. Moreover, to any slaves who are well and favorably known to the king, and who have never been guilty of depravity or crime, permission is granted by the law to testify, as well as to persons who are freeborn. But it must not be thought that other slaves in the royal service can be called as witnesses, for no credit shall attach to any of them, unless the king should especially authorize their testimony to be taken.[12]

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

V. A Witness shall not give His Testimony in Writing, but Orally; and How Testimony should be Given.

Witnesses shall not give testimony by letter, but present, in person, they shall be required to tell the truth, as far as lies in their knowledge. Nor shall they testify concerning foreign matters, but only concerning those which they know to have taken place under their own eyes. But if the witnesses, or their relatives, or friends, should either be oppressed with age or infirmity, or resident in a foreign or distant province, and should think that their testimony should be taken, and if all those concerned in the case are not residents of the same province, they shall assemble in that province, where he who is the highest in rank among the parties lives, and, either in the presence of the judge of the district, or of those whom he shall select, and those interested having been duly summoned, shall give their evidence under oath. Any other proceeding relating to such matters shall be void and of no effect in law.[13]

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

VI. Concerning Those who give False Testimony.

If any one should give false testimony against another, and be detected, or should acknowledge his crime; if he is a person of rank, he shall give as much of his own property to him against whom he testified falsely, as the latter would have lost by his evidence, and he shall never again be permitted to testify in court. If he is a person of inferior rank, and does not possess the means wherewith to make amends, he shall be delivered as a slave to him against whom he testified falsely. But the cause shall by no means be lost by reason of such false testimony, unless the truth shall have been established otherwise; that is, either by a lawful and approved witness, or by just and legal documents in writing. If any one should corrupt another, either by a gift, or by fraud, and should thereby induce him to perjure himself, then, as soon as this fact shall become apparent, the instigator of the crime who aimed at the injury of another, as well as he who was induced by avarice to swear falsely, shall undergo the penalty of forgery.[14]

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

VII. Concerning Those who are Proved to have given False Testimony; and Concerning the Space of Six Months in which a Witness may be Declared Infamous. It shall not be Lawful to give Testimony concerning One who is Dead.

The wickedness of those who give false testimony is not limited to this offence merely, but attempts to add another crime to that of perjury. And, therefore, because such detestable criminals are condemned to death by the Divine Law, we decree that those whom judicial authority has proved to have given false witness against their brethren, shall henceforth not be permitted to testify, as they have already been declared worthy of death, not by human, but by the Divine decree. And if any one should give evidence in court concerning any matter in dispute, and the case should be gained by his testimony, and this witness should subsequently declare that he had given false testimony in the first place, and should then testify in such a manner that his former evidence shall be overthrown; he having been influenced by friendship, or fear, or by a gift from that party against whom he formerly testified; we decree by this new law, the old one still remaining in force, that the testimony of said witness shall not be entitled to credit; and that the cause in which he perjured himself shall not be lost by reason of his testimony, unless it happens that the judgment shall be reversed by the introduction of more reliable, legitimate witnesses, or by means of properly verified documents; so that it may be proper to have a rehearing of the case, and a second decision, as hereinbefore stated. If a party desiring to accelerate the progress of his case should produce a witness in court, and his adversary being present, the latter should declare that he cannot offer anything to contradict said witness, the matter in question shall be settled by the judge in favor of him whose witness has testified. We, however, grant the privilege to the party who declared that he did not know what he could adduce to contradict the witness, to discover, if possible, within six months, the means of contradicting him, and to remedy the defects of his case. But if, within six months, he cannot impeach this witness, and establish his infamy in court, no further time shall be given him in which to do so, or to introduce other witnesses in his behalf; and whatever has been proved by the aforesaid testimony, shall remain established for all time. And, on the other hand, if he who has the right to impeach the aforesaid witness within six months, shall be able to prove his assertions within the appointed time, and if he can thereby establish the infamy of said witness, it shall be lawful for the said party to produce evidence to contradict any witness who is living. But if it should be proved that any witness who formerly testified, is dead, no testimony to impeach him shall be given. Nor shall the testimony of a living witness, in contradiction of one who is dead, ever be taken; excepting in the case of a lawful and manifest instrument in writing, in which he who is dead, confessed, over his own signature, that he was guilty of crime, or that he has been rendered publicly infamous by the sentence of a court of justice. And these statements concerning the infamy which renders any one incompetent to testify in court are sufficient. But if a debt is due from a person who is dead; or if he is accused of wrong; it shall be lawful for a party, according to another law, to prove, either by a competent witness, or by a legal document, either the existence of the debt or the commission of the wrong; and to obtain such redress as he may be entitled to.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

VIII. Concerning Those who Induce Others to give False Testimony, or Encourage the Slaves of Others to Seek their Liberty.

Any one convicted of having induced another to give false testimony against a freeman, shall pay the same amount to him whom he attempted to injure by that false testimony, as the latter could have justly obtained by a judgment in court. But if a witness, asked by another to testify, is known to have given false testimony against a freeman or a liberated slave, and the latter has been reduced to servitude by his evidence, and he who introduced the witness shall not have been convicted of the fraud; the witness himself is to be subjected to the penalty hereinbefore stated; that is, he shall be liable to him whom he wished to injure by his testimony, for the full sum involved in the suit. And if he should not have the means to make amends, he shall be delivered over, with all his property, to the party he attempted to defraud, to forever serve him as a slave. We hereby decree that the same penalty shall be inflicted upon those who have been convicted of giving false testimony in order to liberate the slaves of others; or who, by their schemes, have manifested an intention to deprive freemen of their liberty.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

IX. In what Causes Slaves can Testify.

What relates to the general benefit of the public must not be neglected in our decrees, nor shall the facility for committing crime be such, that any person may think that he is exempt from the operation of the law. Since, therefore, when an affray takes place among freemen whereby death results, and no freeman is present who can give evidence of the crime, slaves may testify; so that it may be ascertained from their evidence how the homicide was committed. But for the reason that, under other circumstances, the course of justice would be obstructed; as, for instance, when the accused freeman shall be some distance away, or, if at hand, should not be recognized; therefore slaves shall be permitted to testify when no freemen were present, or those who were there are implicated in the affair in question. But slaves shall not be allowed to give testimony in other cases, nor in matters of great importance, but only in such as are comparatively insignificant; as those involving the title to lands, vineyards, or buildings, which are of lesser moment, and concerning which disputes often arise between heirs or neighbors. A slave shall also be believed in matters in which he is personally interested; as, for instance, if he should be seized by others, or be illegally detained by them, and also where another slave has escaped; on his statement, when true, the former may be returned to his master; and by reliable information imparted by a slave, any dispute which has arisen on account of the ownership of another, may be ended. Nevertheless, slaves shall be considered unworthy of credit, unless they are known to be innocent of all crime, and are not grievously oppressed by poverty; and their testimony can, under no circumstances, be received to contradict that of freemen; unless, as has been hereinbefore stated, it should happen that a homicide has been committed.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

X. Concerning Those who Bind themselves in Writing, not to give True Testimony in the Causes of Others.

We are aware that many persons are in the habit of entering into obligations in writing, binding themselves to promptly give evidence in their own behalf, or in that of their friends; but to furnish no information in case any one else should bring a suit against them. And because it is well established that they are contrary to truth and equity, all judges shall have the power to at once examine such contracts, cancel them, and inflict a hundred lashes on all who are mentioned in them. Yet that this punishment may not fix upon said persons any mark of infamy, it is granted to them by this law, that they shall afterwards have the right to testify, and that their liberty shall, in no way, be restrained.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

XI. At what Age Minors can Testify.

It is hereby decreed that after a boy or girl has reached his or her fourteenth year, they shall be competent to testify in any case in court.

XII. A Near Relative, or a Kinsman of a Party to a Suit, cannot give Testimony against a Stranger.

Brothers, sisters, half-brothers, uncles, aunts, or their children, also grandsons and granddaughters, shall not be permitted to give evidence in court against strangers; unless relations belonging to the same family should have lawsuits among themselves, or there should not be any other freeman who can testify in the case.