Presumption in the canon law of the Catholic Church is a term signifying a reasonable conjecture concerning something doubtful, drawn from arguments and appearances, which by the force of circumstances can be accepted as a proof. It is on this presumption our common adage is based: "Possession is nine points of the law". Presumption has its place in canon law only when positive proofs are wanting, and yet the formulation of some judgment is necessary. It is never in itself an absolute proof, as it only presumes that something is true. Canonists divide presumption into: presumption of law (juris), or that which is deduced from some legal precept or authority expressed in law or based upon precedents or similarities, and presumption of a judge or man (judicis or hominis), when the law is silent on the subject and an opinion must be formed according to the way that circumstances and indications would affect a prudent man or judge. Canon 1584 Canon 1584 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the current canonical jurisprudence around presumption: This canon of the 1983 Code removes the distinction between relative and absolute legal presumption that was present in the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Varieties of presumption There are several sub-varieties of presumption of law. The foundation of these legal presumptions is to be sought in the natural conclusions drawn from the ordinary happenings of common life and the consideration of the motives that usually sway men in given circumstances. The general rules are thus formulated: "What is natural is presumed to be in the person or case in question"; "Change is not to be presumed"; "Presumption is to be formed from the favourable side". As to effects, when there is question of presumption juris, it abstracts from the necessity of proof; not so presumption hominis. A judge can follow the first in civil cases even when doubt remains, not so the second. The former places the burden of proof on the adversary, but the latter does not. Finally, the first is considered of itself equivalent to proof, while the second needs corroboration from something extraneous to itself. Presumptio juris A legal presumption (presumptio juris) is a presumption that is stated in the positive canon law (ab ipsa lege). Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, legal presumption was divided into two kinds: juris tantum "which is relative and vincible by both direct