摘要：指证人就争议问题陈述的自己的观点、看法或推论，区别于证人就自己所了解的案件事实而作的客观性陈述。证据规则通常不允许普通证人以其对案件事实的意见或推论作证，但是有例外，如因具有相应的科学技术或其他专业知识而具备专家资格的专家证人〔expert witness〕的

opinion evidence 意见证据

指证人就争议问题陈述的自己的观点、看法或推论，区别于证人就自己所了解的案件事实而作的客观性陈述。证据规则通常不允许普通证人以其对案件事实的意见或推论作证，但是有例外，如因具有相应的科学技术或其他专业知识而具备专家资格的专家证人〔expert witness〕的意见可以作为证据采信；普通证人的意见证词一般只有在符合法律规定的少数例外情况下才可予采信，如美国《联邦证据规则》〔Federal Rules of Evidence〕规定，对普通证人以意见或推论形式作出的证词只有在符合：1.合理建立在证人的感觉之上，和2.对清楚理解该证人的证词或确定争议中的事实有益时，才可被采纳。

Opinion evidence refers to evidence of what the witness thinks, believes, or infers in regard to facts, as distinguished from personal knowledge of the facts themselves.[1] In common law jurisdictions the general rule is that a witness is supposed to testify as to what was observed and not to give an opinion on what was observed. However, there are two exceptions to this rule: expert evidence and non-expert opinion given by laymen which people in their daily lives reach without conscious ratiocination. 以下为相关例句，可供参考：

例句1

In general, witnesses should testify only as to the facts observed and should not give opinion. The main rationale for such a rule is that the admission of opinion evidence would not assist, or might even mislead, the court and in particular the jury. This is because opinion evidence is usually irrelevant. Moreover, admission of such evidence would usurp the functions of the jury, which alone should be the tribunal of fact and draw its own inferences.

一般来说，证人只应就观察到的事实作证，不应发表意见。这一规则的主要理由是，接受意见证据无助于，甚至可能误导法院，特别是陪审团。这是因为意见证据通常是不相关的。此外，接受这种证据将篡夺陪审团的职能，只有陪审团才应该是事实的法庭，并得出自己的推论。

例句2

Evidence of the opinions or beliefs of a witness, as opposed to evidence of facts about which he can give admissible evidence. At common law, under the opinion rule, opinion evidence is in general inadmissible; however, this rule is subject to many exceptions, so that a witness of fact may give evidence of identity, as well as evidence of matters of impression and narrative. Expert witnesses may give their opinions on any matter falling within their expertise that falls outside the experience and knowledge of the court.

证人观点或信仰的证据，与他能提供可接受证据的事实证据相反。在普通法中，根据意见规则，意见证据一般是不可接受的；然而，这一规则有许多例外，因此事实证人可以提供身份证据，以及印象和叙述事项的证据。专家证人可就其专业知识范围内、不属于法院经验和知识范围的任何事项发表意见。

例句3

Evidence that constitutes an inference, evaluation, interpretation or belief rather than observed fact. Opinion evidence is inadmissible in court proceedings as a general rule, although there are some exceptions. Opinion evidence is generally excluded because it has the potential to mislead the court (i.e. the jury) despite being irrelevant and extraneous material. It is generally understood that the only value judgment or opinion allowed in a court should be the one formed by the jury/judge at the close of proceedings, and that should be based on solely on the tribunal of fact before it.

构成推论、评价、解释或信仰的证据，而不是观察到的事实。作为一般规则，意见证据在法庭诉讼中是不可接受的，尽管有一些例外。意见证据通常被排除在外，因为它有可能误导法庭（即陪审团），尽管它是不相关和无关的材料。人们普遍认为，法院允许的唯一价值判断或意见应该是陪审团/法官在诉讼结束时形成的判断或意见，并且应该完全基于提交给它的事实法庭。

例句4

Opinion evidence can be categorised into expert evidence and layperson evidence. Admissibility, however, is not dependent on the distinction as such but is determined by the general rule. Procedurally, the distinction is noteworthy since a party is required to give notice of its intention to rely on expert evidence in civil cases. In criminal cases, the prosecution is required by the Constitution to disclose expert opinion evidence to the accused prior to the commencement of the trial.

意见证据可以分为专家证据和外行证据。然而，可接受性并不取决于这种区别，而是由一般规则决定。从程序上讲，这种区别值得注意，因为一方当事人被要求通知其在民事案件中依赖专家证据的意图。在刑事案件中，宪法要求检方在审判开始前向被告披露专家意见证据。

来源：丹丹讲教育