Influence of procedure

Procedure can affect the way in which the law develops.

For example, in many German states before 1871, procedural law required that the claimant present exact proof of the harm and state the exact damage accurately. This was often difficut when evidence had been destroyed in a train accident, yet the absence of evidence in the right form prevented a successful claim.

In France and England, medical practitioners were required to act as experts in the decision whether the actions of a doctor fell seriously below established medical practice. But these medical experts rarely judged that a doctor’s conduct was sufficiently poor to give rise to liability.