Documentary evidence
The documentary evidence is evidence in German procedural law . It is one of the types of evidence suitable for strict evidence. In civil procedure and criminal procedure apply to the documentary evidence different rules. The documentary evidence is also provided for in every rules of procedure.
Civil litigation
All written expressions of thought, regardless of their purpose, their linguistic formulation and the choice of characters, count as certificates. It is not necessary that the document is signed. However, a signature can have a decisive influence on the probative value .
The rules on the evidential value of public documents are contained in § 415 , § 417 to § 418 ZPO , the private documents in § 416 ZPO. Title 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure (§ § 415 to § 444 ZPO) regulates further details on evidence by means of documents, in particular the taking of evidence and the proof of authenticity. The evidence in the context of the documentary evidence must always be presented by submitting the original ( Section 420 ZPO). So a photocopy is not enough.
In practice, photocopies are often presented as evidence instead of documents . Strictly speaking, photocopies are not documents, but objects of inspection. However, if their agreement with the original is undisputed, they can represent a full substitute for the documentary evidence.
Criminal trial
All embodied explanations of thought, which are generally as well as specifically understandable, are accessible to the documentary evidence in criminal proceedings . These declarations must reveal the author (issuer) and they must be suitable and intended to prove a legally significant fact. It is not necessary that the provision of factual evidence was already available at the time of issue. In criminal procedure law, documentary evidence is regulated in § § 249 to § 256 StPO .
In principle, the certificate must be read out during the main hearing if the self-reading procedure is not used. In doing so, the principle of immediacy must be observed, which in many constellations means that a witness or expert can generally be heard and this hearing may only be read out in exceptional cases by reading out a document about the findings or perceptions of the witness or expert.
Deed process
Documentary evidence, which can be used in any civil process, must be distinguished from documentary evidence , which opens up a special procedure in the case of limited evidence.
Web links
- Legal regulation of the German documentary evidence in the ZPO
- Legal regulation of the German documentary evidence in the StPO
