trial by certificate

trial by certificate 依证人证明书进行的审判指旧时某些案件中，证人就其所知情况所提供的证明书是确定案件争议点的唯一适格证据时适用的一种审判方式。在这种情况下，对案件争议将只能依该证书作出裁断。

Hist. A trial in which the issue is decided on evidence in the form of witnesses’ certificates of what they individually know.