In many countries,the legal systems follow a“free proof”philosophy and allow the decision-maker to consider any relevant evidence.However,in other countries,especially those with a common-law tradition and a jury institution,the courts developed exclusionary rules such as the hearsay doctrine and the character evidence prohibition restricting the admission of relevant evidence.The conventional wisdom is that the common-law judges formulated these restrictions on admissibility because of the judges′doubts about In many countries, the legal systems follow a “free proof ” philosophy and allow the decision-maker to consider any relevant evidence. However, in those countries, especially those with a common-law tradition and a jury institution, the court developed exclusionary rules such as the hearsay doctrine and the character evidence prohibition restricting the admission of relevant evidence. The conventional wisdom is that the common-law Definition. These restrictions on admissibility because of the judges’doubts about