Prima facie

Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning "on its first appearance," or "by first instance." Literally, the phrase translates as first face, "prima" first, "facie" face. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a matter appears to be self-evident from the facts. In common law jurisdictions, prima facie denotes evidence that (unless rebutted) would be sufficient to prove a particular proposition or fact.