Words / I / Law

in dubio pro reo

phrase/ɪn ˈdjuːbiəʊ prəʊ ˈreɪəʊ/

C2CEFR level
95/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The principle that any doubt must be resolved in favour of the accused.

Applying in dubio pro reo, the tribunal acquitted where the evidence fell short of certainty.

Topic: Criminal law in Legal English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More law words: Criminal law