General criminal law
Charge of forgery of documents in connection with a driving licence translation
Case discontinued after our written submission
In a recent case we were able to bring our client good news: the investigation on suspicion of forgery of documents was discontinued under sect. 170 (2) of the Strafprozessordnung (StPO, German Code of Criminal Procedure). What had happened?
Our client, who had moved to Germany from South America, had doubts about the validity of his national driving licence in Germany. In good faith and without any bad intention, he ordered a translation of his driving licence, a so-called "International Driver's Document", on the internet.
The prosecuting authority suspected that our client might have committed forgery of documents and opened an investigation. Forgery of documents is a serious offence which is punished with substantial penalties under sect. 267 StGB (German Criminal Code). Our client suddenly found himself confronted with serious allegations that he could not have foreseen.
We then prepared a detailed written submission.
The public prosecutor's office thereupon decided that no criminal offence had been committed. The investigation was discontinued under sect. 170 (2) StPO. That provision states that proceedings are discontinued if there is no sufficient suspicion. That was precisely the situation here.
For our client, the discontinuation means that he is spared criminal prosecution.
Provisions: § 267 StGB · § 170 Abs. 2 StPO
The proceedings described here have been concluded. The outcome of any case always depends on its individual circumstances.