Doubt and its Role in Civil Law

Abstract

This research examines the effect of doubt on civil legal relationships by defining doubt, distinguishing it from suspicion, probability, ignorance, and ambiguity, and identifying the legal and jurisprudential foundations for recognizing its legal consequences. It also addresses the conditions under which doubt may produce a legal effect and the limits of the judge’s discretionary authority in establishing its existence and determining its consequences, so that doubt is not used to obstruct rights or evade established obligations. The research further considers the applications of doubt in civil evidence and contractual interpretation, particularly the presumptions that the original state remains unchanged and that a person is free from liability, the allocation of the burden of proof, and the interpretation of doubt in favor of the debtor. It also explains the special protection granted to the adhering party where the terms of an adhesion contract are ambiguous, even when that party is the creditor, thereby preventing the drafting party from benefiting from such ambiguity. The research concludes that reliance on doubt is a subsidiary legal mechanism that applies only when ambiguity cannot be removed through ordinary methods of interpretation and proof. Its effectiveness therefore depends on subjecting judicial discretion to objective controls that ensure transactional stability, contractual balance, and justice.