Prima facie (, , or ; from ) is a
Latin expression meaning on its first encounter or
at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face" or "at first appearance", from the feminine form of
primus ("first") and
facies ("face"), both in the
ablative case. In modern, colloquial and conversational English, a common translation would be, "on the face of it". The term
prima facie is used in modern
legal English (including both
Civil Law and
Criminal Law) to signify that upon initial examination, sufficient corroborating
evidence appears to exist to support a case. In
common law jurisdictions,
prima facie denotes evidence that, unless
rebutted, would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact. The term is used similarly in academic
philosophy. Most legal proceedings, in most
jurisdictions, require a
prima facie case to exist, following which proceedings may then commence to test it, and create a ruling.