Urkunden

Documents: 1) In civil law, all legally relevant facts evidenced in writing (e.g. passports, driving licences, passenger tickets and admission tickets, etc.). Forging of documents is a punishable offence (§ 223 Penal Code). 2) Historic instruments (especially since the Middle Ages) evidencing legally relevant events and transactions and complying with certain formalities. A distinction is made between imperial (royal), papal and private documents, and, according to their legal contents, diplomas and mandates. In order to guarantee existing legal titles, numerous documents (Privilegium maius) have been forged throughout history.