In the sixth century Digest of Justinian provides, as a general rule of evidence: “Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat”Proof lies on him who asserts, not on him who denies.It is there attributed to the second and third century jurist Paul.After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe fell back on a Germanic system that presumed guilt. The accused could prove his innocence by having, for example, twelve people swear that he could not have done what he was accused of. This tended to favor the nobility over the lower classes