Authentic act
Encyclopedia
A public instrument is any legal instrument
recorded with and authenticated by a public office or employee. Any such instrument, in order to carry weight, must be genuine and authentic. Public instruments consequently must bear the name, title and seal of the official issuing them, and they should be written in the presence of witnesses and attested by them.
A public instrument is generally admissible in evidence without the necessity of preliminary proof of its authenticity and due execution. In other words, public instruments are self-authenticating documentary evidence.
Typical types of public instruments include:
are generally known as authentic acts and under Scots law
as probative or self-proving instruments. These categories refer more to the level of evidenciary validity given an instrument in court. Under these law systems, to be received as a public instrument, a document must be subjected to a number of conditions, including execution before two or more witnesses, and before a civil-law notary or public officer authorized to execute such functions, or which is testified by a public seal, or has been rendered public by the authority of a competent judicial officer, or which is certified as being a copy of a public register. Any such instrument is said to prove itself, that is, it has the privilege of being free from challenge or rebuttal at court.
Legal instrument
Legal instrument is a legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or right, and therefore evidences that act, process, or...
recorded with and authenticated by a public office or employee. Any such instrument, in order to carry weight, must be genuine and authentic. Public instruments consequently must bear the name, title and seal of the official issuing them, and they should be written in the presence of witnesses and attested by them.
A public instrument is generally admissible in evidence without the necessity of preliminary proof of its authenticity and due execution. In other words, public instruments are self-authenticating documentary evidence.
Typical types of public instruments include:
- state and federal laws
- laws of foreign nations
- vital recordVital recordVital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and death certificates. In some jurisdictions, vital records may also include records of civil unions or domestic partnerships....
s - legislative acts
- acts of statute (acts of ParliamentAct of ParliamentAn Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
(or CongressAct of CongressAn Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
)) - subordinate legislation
- acts of statute (acts of Parliament
- court writs or process
- court records
- rules of court
- notarial actsAct (document)An act is an instrument that records a fact or something that has been said, done, or agreed. Acts generally take the form of legal instruments of writing that have probative value and executory force...
- municipal and county charters
- ordinances and resolutions of municipalities
- administrative agency rules
- items under official governmental seal
- any deed or formal agreement recorded and filed with a government register
Civil and Scots law
Public instruments at Civil lawCivil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
are generally known as authentic acts and under Scots law
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
as probative or self-proving instruments. These categories refer more to the level of evidenciary validity given an instrument in court. Under these law systems, to be received as a public instrument, a document must be subjected to a number of conditions, including execution before two or more witnesses, and before a civil-law notary or public officer authorized to execute such functions, or which is testified by a public seal, or has been rendered public by the authority of a competent judicial officer, or which is certified as being a copy of a public register. Any such instrument is said to prove itself, that is, it has the privilege of being free from challenge or rebuttal at court.