The Hearsay System: Around and Through the Thicket

All these complicated rules about hearsay are very strange for us, our judges having the right to evaluate the importance of what a witness says or a paper may prove. In this regard, the position of our judges is much freer than yours; in general a German judge can refuse any means of evidence only if he thinks that the fact to be proved is without relevance to the case, or if he accepts the fact to be proved as true, or if the evidence cannot be reached or in his opinion is only designed to delay the procedure. The administration of these rules is controlled by the Supreme Court and as far as I can see we do not have any difficulties in this field.