Section V. Documentary Evidence
148. (Offer of documentary evidence, etc.)
1. Documentary evidence shall be offered through the presentation of a document in
the possession of a party or through a motion for an order requiring the holder of a
document to produce the document.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph 1, documentary evidence may be
offered through a motion filed with the court demanding that the court request the
holder of a document to send the document to the court.
3. The court may, where the court deems it necessary, keep custody of any document
that is presented or sent to the court.
149. (Attachment of translation, etc.)
1. When documentary evidence is offered through the presentation of a document
written in a foreign language, a translation of the parts of the document with
respect to which evidence is being offered shall be attached.
2. Where the adversary party has opinions regarding the accuracy of the translation
referred to in Paragraph 1, such opinions shall be submitted in writing to the court.
150. (Duty to produce document)
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Code or other laws, production of a document
may not be refused by the holder thereof.
2. The holder of a document may refuse the production thereof if the document falls
under any of the following categories:
(a) a document that contains matters that would give rise to the possibility that
the holder of the documents or the spouse or other relative thereof could be
prosecuted for or found guilty of a crime, or that would bring humiliation or
disgrace on such person or cause significant harm to his/her domestic
relationships;
(b) a document that involves the official secrets of a public official, where
production of such document would significantly hinder the exercise of
public duties; or
(c) a document involving facts learned by a current or former doctor, dentist,
midwife, nurse, pharmacist, attorney or clergyman in the course of his/her
professional duties, or technological or business secrets, and the holder of
the facts or secrets has not been released or exempted from the duty to
maintain confidentiality.
151. (Motion for order to produce documents)
1. A motion for an order to produce documents must specify the following matters in
detail:
(a) the title of the document, and a basic description of its contents;
(b) the holder of the document; and
(c) the facts to be proven thereby.
2. A motion for an order to produce documents must be made in writing.
3. Where the adversary party has opinions regarding the motion described in
Paragraph 2, such opinions shall be submitted in writing to the court.
152. (Order to produce documents, etc.)
1. Where the court determines that sufficient grounds for an order to produce
documents exist, the court shall issue a ruling ordering the holder of the
documents to produce such documents. In this case, where the documents contain
parts that are deemed outside the scope of inquiry, or as to which no duty to
produce is deemed to exist, the court may order that such parts be omitted from
the documents produced.
2. Where the court intends to order a third party to produce documents, the court
shall examine of the third party.
3. A Chomtoah appeal may be made against a ruling on a motion to produce
documents.
153. (Effect of party's failure to comply with order to produce documents, etc.)
1. When a party fails to comply with an order to produce documents, the court may
deem the other party's allegations regarding the contents of such documents to be
true.
2. The rule set forth in Paragraph 1 shall also apply to cases where, in order to
prevent its use by the other party, a party causes a document that the party was
required to produce to be lost, or otherwise makes it impossible for the other party
to use the document.
3. In the cases described in Paragraphs 1 and 2, where the other party has substantial
difficulty in making specific allegations regarding the contents of a document and
in proving by other means a fact that was to be proven by such document, the
court may deem the other party's allegations regarding such fact to be true.
154. (Civil fine for failure of third party to comply with order to produce
documents)
1. Where a third party fails to comply with an order to produce documents, the court
may issue a ruling imposing on the third party a civil fine of not more than
2,000,000 riels.
2. A Chomtoah appeal may be made against a ruling issued pursuant to Paragraph 1.
155. (Execution of document)
1. A party offering documentary evidence shall prove that the document was
authentically executed.
2. A document that is determined, based on its form and content, to be created by a
public official in the course of official business, shall be presumed to be an
authentically executed official document.
3. Where doubt exists regarding the authenticity of an official document's execution,
the court may, on its own authority, inquire of the relevant government agency or
official.
4. Unofficial documents signed by the principal or the principal's representative shall
be presumed to have been authentically executed.
5. The provisions of Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply mutatis mutandis to documents
deemed to have been created by a foreign government agency or official.
156. (Proof by handwriting comparison, etc.)
1. The authenticity of a document's execution may be proven through handwriting
comparison.
2. The provisions of Article 148 (Offer of documentary evidence, etc.), Article 152
(Order to produce documents, etc.) and Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 153 (Effect
of party's failure to comply with order to produce documents, etc.) shall apply
mutatis mutandis to the production or sending of documents and other items
necessary in order to perform handwriting comparison.
3. If there is no suitable sample of the adversary party's handwriting for purposes of
comparison, the court may order the adversary party to write text to be used for
purposes of comparison.
4. If a party fails without reasonable cause to comply with a ruling issued pursuant to
Paragraph 3, the court may deem to be true the allegations of the person offering
the document in evidence as to the authenticity of the document's execution. This
shall also apply where the writing has been altered or disguised.
5. If without reasonable cause a third party fails to comply with an order to produce
documents issued pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 153 (Effect
of party's failure to comply with order to produce documents, etc.), which apply
mutatis mutandis under Paragraph 2, the court may issue a ruling imposing on the
third party a civil fine of not more than 2,000,000 riels.
6. A Chomtoah appeal may be made against a ruling made pursuant to Paragraph 5.
157. (Civil fine against person disputing authenticity of execution of document)
1. Where a party or the party's representative intentionally or through gross
negligence falsely disputes the authenticity of a document's execution, the court
may issue a ruling imposing a civil fine of not more than 1,000,000 riels against
the party or representative.
2. A Chomtoah appeal may be made against a ruling made pursuant to Paragraph 1.
3. In cases referred to in Paragraph 1, where the party or representative that disputed
the authenticity of execution of a document thereafter recognizes the document's
authenticity while the suit is still pending, the court may, depending on the
circumstances, rescind its ruling referred to in that Paragraph.
158. (Application of articles corresponding to documents)
The provisions of this Section shall apply mutatis mutandis to articles such as drawings,
photographs, audio and video tapes, and other items that are not documents but were
created in order to express information.
159. (Offer of documentary evidence comprising transcription of audio tapes, etc.)
A party that offers documentary evidence comprising a transcription of an audio tape,
video tape or other article on which certain matters can be recorded using corresponding
methods shall, in cases where the other party has requested delivery of a copy of such
article, deliver a copy thereof to the other party.
160. (Submission of document explaining contents of recording tape, etc.)
1. A party offering examination of evidence on an audio tape or any other article
described in Article 159 (Offer of documentary evidence comprising transcription
of audio tapes, etc.) shall, when so requested by the court or the other party,
submit a written transcription of those recorded in the article or a document that
explains the contents thereof.
2. Where the adversary party has opinions regarding the contents of the explanation
provided for in the document mentioned in Paragraph 1, such opinions shall be
submitted in writing to the court.
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