The Concept of Innocent Until Proven Guilty Dates to Roman Law

While the idea of an accuser needing to prove their claims seems intuitive today, it was a revolutionary legal innovation developed in ancient Rome. The principle was elegantly captured in the Latin maxim 'ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat,' meaning the burden of proof rests on the one who asserts, not the one who denies. This shifted the legal balance of power dramatically. Instead of a defendant having to perform the logically difficult task of proving their own innocence, the responsibility fell entirely on the accuser to build a convincing case based on evidence.

This concept was solidified over centuries of Roman jurisprudence and was notably reinforced by emperors like Antoninus Pius in the 2nd century AD. It was later formally compiled in the 6th-century Digest of Justinian, a massive collection of Roman legal writings that would become the foundation for much of Western law. This rational approach stood in stark contrast to other ancient and medieval practices like trial by combat or ordeal, where the accused had to survive a physical test to prove their innocence, relying on divine intervention rather than factual evidence.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, this vital principle was preserved and transmitted through the legal system of the Catholic Church, known as Canon Law. It eventually influenced the development of English common law and was later championed by Enlightenment thinkers who saw it as a crucial protection against tyrannical power. Today, this ancient Roman standard is not just a legal tradition but a fundamental human right, enshrined in the legal codes of democracies worldwide as a critical safeguard for individual liberty.