Legal Assistance with Reports and Reporting

Questioner

After a conversation with a lawyer from the other party, a report was made and sent to us, with a request for signature for approval and space for any comments/corrections. This has not been signed by us, namely not approved. This report is still used. Can this be declared null and void by us. A report has been drawn up about an incident, is it true that the report overrules the previously mentioned reporting?

Lawyer

You ask whether a report is superior to a report by a lawyer of the opposing party. That is a question that cannot be answered easily. In principle, anything can serve as evidence. Then it comes down to the assessment of the evidence. It is not the case that a report is always valued more than a later report. That depends on the circumstances. It is also very important to know who has the burden of proof. That largely determines your position. Your story raises a lot of questions for me. What exactly is going on? Why is the other party sending you a lawyer? And why is this lawyer asking you to sign a report? You also talk about a report. Was the police involved somewhere? What kind of incident was it? When a report is presented to you for approval to sign, I advise you in any case not to sign for approval if you do not agree with the contents of this report. I advise you to hire a lawyer. If it concerns an accident, I advise you to approach a specialized personal injury lawyer. It is difficult to provide you with specific advice based on your story. If you provide more information, it may be possible to provide you with expert advice.

Lawyer

What I would like to add to my previous response is that, pursuant to Article 152 paragraph 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure, evidence can be provided by any means, unless the law provides otherwise. Documents signed by you can be regarded as private deeds within the meaning of Article 156 paragraph 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Based on Article 157 paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a private deed in principle provides compelling evidence with regard to the statements of the parties included in the deed. That is why I repeat my advice not to sign the report of the opposing party's lawyer for approval.