CONFESSION (MEANS OF PROOF). – In canon law, confession as a means of proof is distinguished into judicial confession and extrajudicial confession.
I. Judicial confession is a true and proper legal proof. It occurs when one of the parties in a lawsuit asserts a fact whose acknowledgment is contrary to their own interest and favorable to the other party, provided that the assertion is made, either in writing or orally, before the competent judge (at least within the absolute limits), the person making the assertion has the standing to appear in court, and finally, the confession is made with full awareness.
Among the various effects of judicial confession, the following should be noted in particular: a) it relieves the opposing party of the burden of proof, provided that only private interests are at stake in the case (CIC, can. 1751); b) it gives rise, for the facts to which it refers, to legal notoriety as per can. 2197 § 2, and as a direct consequence of such notoriety, the presumptions and proofs contrary to it are successfully overcome by the confession itself.
The confession may be revoked by the confessor if done immediately, or if the required conditions are lacking; whereas, once it has been completed, it may only be revoked if the conditions (and in particular that of free awareness) were lacking, or if the confession was the product of a factual error (can. 1752).
II. Extrajudicial confession is one that is made, either in writing or orally, to the opposing party or to others, extra iudicium (CIC, can. 1753).
As is obvious, it has less force than that proper to judicial confession, since it must reasonably be presumed to have been made without full knowledge of its possible repercussions in the judicial arena; however, if it appears circumstantial and made with full awareness of its importance and at a time not suspect, it may be placed on the same level as judicial confession before the judge: but the evaluation of the efficacy to be attributed to it is expressly left to the judge’s discretion (can. 1753).