6.8小结 证据是为了认定事实,问卷调查证据(surveyevidence)是为了认定有关公 众或部分群体的思想状态或他们的“民意”对争议事实的看法。与双方当事人要 引入(adduce)专家意见证据(expertopinionevidence)一样,要顾及许多方面 才不会被法院拒绝批准与接受。或是,即使被接受(这在问卷调查证据是不难), 证明价值的重量也不高甚至是没有或被对方压倒。要顾及的许多方面已经在以上 段节有详细介绍,不再重复。 只说,这种问卷调查证据可以是十分昂贵,所以肯花这笔费用就必须保证能 起到作用,即不会被法院拒绝接受或更可能是不给予重量。这就需要在问卷调查 的做法上尽量严格依照“Whitford指引”,特别注意做法上公平(thesurveymust beconductedfairly)与透明,否则就起不了作用与浪费金钱。这可节录《Expert Evidence:Law&Practice》(2020年,第5版)一书之18-008与18-009段部分内 容作为简单的结语: “Surveysareconductedastotheopinionsorreactionsofthepublicora particularsectionofthepublicinrelationtoparticularproducts,bothasanincident tothecommercialmarketingoftheproduct,andforthespecificpurposeoflegal proceedings,mostofteninpatent,copyrightandpassing-offactions.… …Marketresearchsurveyevidenceisclearlyadmissibleperse,sothatfailureto observetheseprocedureswillgotothequestionofweightratherthanadmissibility, thoughithasbeensuggestedthataseriousfailuretocomply,particularlyifitraises thequestionofgoodfaith,canrendersuchevidenceinadmissible.Notwithstandingthis, itisclearlyarisk-ladenventuretoproceedtotrialwithsurveyevidence,costlyasitis tocompileandassimilate,whichdepartsinanysubstantialsensefromtherequirements whichhavebeenlisted.”
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