Can a fax be used as evidence?
Can a fax be used as evidence?
"I'm in dispute about an item I ordered in a shop. I would like to know if a fax can be considered valid proof?"
Gilles, Vaud
During a trial, each party has several ways of proving the truth of its arguments: the codes of procedure of each canton generally provide for proof by documents, proof by witnesses and expert evidence. In Geneva, examination of the parties is also an accepted method of proof, but this does not exist in the canton of Vaud. It is the judge who then assesses the significance of these various means of proof, especially when they contradict each other, which is often the case, as a witness may, for example, assert a fact that is contradicted by a document but corroborated by an expert report.
Under the law, all written documents intended and capable of proving a fact of legal significance are referred to as "documents of title" (art. 110 of the Criminal Code). The Federal Court has ruled that a written document received by fax is a document of title within the meaning of this provision when the document faxed by the sender is itself a document of title. The problem of its validity may, of course, be raised where there is doubt as to the originality of the fax. However, this problem is the same for any document presented as evidence. As a general rule, the parties submit copies of documents to the judge and it is only when one of them claims that a document has been misrepresented that the original can be requested from the party holding it. If the original has been destroyed or no longer exists, the judge will have to assess the validity of the document in his possession.
If the fax to which you refer serves your case, you may produce it in court, accompanied if necessary by its original and proof of dispatch if you are the author, or by demanding production of the original if you are the recipient and your opposing party disputes its content. The judge will then decide whether the evidence is relevant to the circumstances of the case.
