delito contra la fe pública, falsificación de documentos

22:02 Nov 22, 2015 

Creo que es un delito de falsedad documental en documento público cometido por un particular (faltar a la verdad en la narración de los hechos), aunque la falsedad ideológica no es punible en España.

21:14 Nov 22, 2015 

Phil, "Y declaro que, la dirección que señalo líneas arriba es mi domicilio actual y verdadero donde tengo
vivencia real, física y permanentemente. En caso de comprobárseme falsedad, declaro haber
incurrido en el delito contra la fe pública, falsificación de documentos"

21:10 Nov 22, 2015 

Why perjury? El delito de falso testimonio es un delito contra la administración de justicia, al igual que la prevaricación o la acusación o denuncia falsa (entre otros).

16:50 Nov 21, 2015 

Could we have the full Spanish context, please.

16:49 Nov 21, 2015 

Yes, Robert. I have looked up "public trust/confidence" is about how the public perceiving the government, but this text I am translating is about a regular citizen swearing that her residency is true. So an ordinary person making a false sworn declaration must be fraud, not a crime against public trust.

16:47 Nov 21, 2015 

“Fe pública” has often been translated in this forum and elsewhere as “public trust,” but I’m not sure that is an appropriate rendering. Robert has indicated that it refers to “having confidence in public institutions,” but I believe the expression often more specifically refers to the fact that in civil law countries documents certified by persons endowed with “fe pública” (notaries, court clerks, registrars of public registries, consuls and other public officials) and government issued effects of all kinds enjoy an assumption of legal certainty (“seguridad jurídica”). In that regard, although it is a mouthful and could certainly be worded otherwise, I believe that “delitos contra la fe pública” refers to “offenses in violation of the legal certainty of public/official documents and effects” (one of which is falsification/forgery of documents). I’ve come to this conclusion by reading the pertinent articles of the criminal code of Colombia in which “delitos contra la fe pública” include “falsificación de moneda”, “falsificación de sellos, efectos oficiales y marcas” and “falsedad de documentos.”

16:20 Nov 21, 2015 

As I see it, fraud is a more general term. "Fe pública" is a concept that relates specifically to the idea of the public having confidence in government institutions as a means of having legal certainty, so clearly fraud by public officials undermines that trust. In addition, there may be no direct pecuniary gain for the fraudulent act. Therefore, I'd assume only public officials vested with that authority can be charged with undermining that trust.

14:58 Nov 21, 2015 

In that case, wouldn't "fraud", be the most appropriate term in regards to regular individuals reporting false documentation/information?

14:20 Nov 21, 2015 

I would normally say "breach of public trust", but I associate that with fraud by government officials, so I don't know if it fits here.