In what form must a document reach the court, and when may the court go further and require the original itself to be submitted or sent?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the document as actually filed to see whether it is the original, a certified copy, or an authenticated duplicate, and any order of the court requiring the original to be submitted or its sending to be commissioned, since the provision turns on necessity recognised by the court.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading holds that a document submitted or sent to the court must be the original, a certified copy, or a duplicate bearing authentication, as the provision lists these forms without preferring any one of them, and that where the court finds this necessary it may order the original submitted or commission that it be sent.
Another reading stresses that the power to compel the original rests wholly on the court's own finding that it is necessary, and the provision neither states what counts as necessary nor addresses a document the party has not been required to give up.
Your judgment
What in the case could show the court why the original, and not a certified copy or authenticated duplicate, is necessary for this document?
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 set a standard for necessity or to change the forms of submission it accepts, or if a court decision explains when the original may be required.