In Dubio Contra Reum: a definition

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I am currently reading Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem and came across the phrase "in dubio contra reum" on p. 214. My Latin being a little rusty, and it being late in the day, I whacked the term into Google and was disappointed to find that there was no adequate definition of the term in the search results; merely band names and a German entry. Anyway, thinking about it a bit more and looking up "reum" in my Latin dictionary reveals the definition, which I thought I'd share.

The definition of in dubio contra reum is "in doubt, against the accused", meaning that, where there is doubt, the accused in a trial is not given the benefit of that doubt; they are assumed guilty.

In Arendt's case, for those interested, she concludes that there was a lack of corroborating evidence of Eichmann's complicity in the deportation of all Jews to Auschwitz and Arendt therefore applies the term to the verdict on this score.

In Dubio Contra Reum: a definition was originally published by Martin Paul Eve at eve.gd: Martin Paul Eve on March 04, 2011.