Which documents does the Criminal Procedure Act list as documents that may be received as evidence, and what must each of the three categories show?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind we read the certificate of family relations records or the extract of a notarial deed to see which official certified it and what matters it covers, and we read the commercial books or ship's log to see they were made because business required them.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the three categories as written: a certificate of family relations records, an extract of a notarial deed, or any document a Korean or foreign public official drew up concerning matters that official is competent to certify in an official capacity may be received as evidence, as may commercial books, ship's logs and other usual documents made because business required them, and any other document drawn up under circumstances that are especially credible.
Another reading notes the provision says only that such documents 'may be received as evidence', not that they prove the matters they state, and that for the third category the provision sets no test of its own, so what counts as especially credible circumstances is left for the court to judge.
Your judgment
When a document is said to fall into the third category, what in the practice file could show the circumstances in which it was drawn up?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add, remove or redefine a category, or if a court decision sets what counts as a usual document made because business required them or as especially credible circumstances.