In the law of evidence . The presence of those characteristics, or the absence of those disabilities, which render a witness legally fit and qualified to give testimony in a court of justice. The term is also applied, in the same sense, to documents or other written evidence. Competency differs from credibility . The former is a question which arises before considering the evidence given by the witness; the latter concerns the degree of credit to be COMPETENCY 233 COMPLAINT given to his story. The former denotes the personal qualification of the witness; the latter his veracity. A witness may De competent, and yet give incredible testimony; he may be incompetent , and yet his evidence, if received, be perfectly credible. Competency is for the court; credibility for the jury. Yet in some cases the term “credible” is used as au equivalent for “competent.” Thus, in a statute relating to the execution of wills, the term ” credible witness ” is held to mean one who is entitled to be examined and to give evidence In a court of justice; not necessarily one who Is personally worthy of belief, but one who is not disqualified by imbecility , interest, crime, or other cause. 1 Jarm. Wills, 124; Smith v. Jones. OS Vt 132, 34 Atl. 424; Com. v. Holmes, 127 Mass. 424, 34 Am. Rep. 301. In French law . Competency, as applied to a court, means its right to exercise jurisdiction in a particular case.
Black’s Law Online Dictionary
