Appunti tra storia e attualità sul cd. ‘modello orale’ nel processo civile

In this contribution, the Author examines – from a historical and then ideological and systematic viewpoint – some dimensions of the ‘principle of orality’ in civil trials and their theorical underpinnings. In particular, this paper firstly focuses upon (a) the specific importance assigned by this procedural model to spoken forms of communication vis-àvis written statements and documents in judicial hearings, and on how recent technological innovations might affect this importance. Then, it will focuses upon the principles of (b) immediacy and (c) concentration. Lastly, it critically considers some of the implications of this procedural law ideology on the role of the judge, and particularly on evidence law. More specifically, it will be argued that the recent shift towards the need of a rational (and not ‘psychological-subjectivist’) model for the evaluation of evidence and proof might weaken the original and most radical (epistemic) meaning of the principles of orality in civil proceedings.