original
An original is the original of a document . The possession of this original is of considerable importance in terms of evidential law.
Originals in administrative practice
If a clerk within the administration can do without the original documents , the process is to be returned to the sender with his statement, information or other reference in the original ("U."), i.e. "in the original", or to other offices or Forwarding departments . In the case of queries as well as information and comments, documents must always be sent in original against return ("UgR"), especially within the administration, if it can be assumed that the department addressed does not need the document for its files.
In the case of an administrative dispute is by the authority of § 82 Administrative Procedure , the original of the attacked (Code of Administrative Procedure) administrative act or of the attacked contradiction notification to the Administrative Court submitted.
Originals in civil proceedings and in civil law
For German civil proceedings , the term “original” is mentioned in Section 435 of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO). This is about the assessment of evidence in public, i.e. official documents . In principle, these do not have to be submitted in the original; a certified copy is sufficient . The reason for this is that the legislature assumes that the original documents would be kept by public and therefore generally trustworthy bodies. However, the civil court can require the original document to be presented and, if only the certified copy was presented, it can decide on the probative value of the copy within the framework of the free assessment of evidence.
In notarized authenticated documents (for example, real estate deeds ), the original according to § 45 Beurkundungsgesetz (BeurkG) basically at the notary remain who has to keep them. Exceptions to this are, among other things, documents that have to be submitted in the original abroad ( Section 45 (2) BeurkG). If the original is lost, the original can be replaced by a certified copy or a copy that is still available in the case of notarial contracts in accordance with § 46 BeurkG .
Other uses of the term
The French philosopher Jacques Derrida also uses the term.
