What legal term describes the requirements necessary to support a legal claim?

The term that describes the requirements necessary to support a legal claim is "evidence." Evidence encompasses the information, whether through testimony, documents, or other means, that a party presents to prove the facts of a case. In legal proceedings, a party must establish its claims by providing sufficient and relevant evidence that meets the applicable standards, which can involve direct or indirect proof that supports the allegations in question.

Statutory laws refer to laws enacted by a legislative body and set out the legal framework within which evidence must be evaluated. Case law is derived from judicial decisions that interpret statutes and regulations, helping to clarify how laws apply in specific instances but does not define the evidentiary requirements themselves. Circumstantial proof, while it can contribute to the body of evidence, is a specific type of evidence that relies on inference rather than direct observation. Thus, it does not capture the broader concept represented by evidence as a whole when discussing the foundational requirements for legal claims.