Evidentiary value of private notes
The evidentiary value of private notes concerns a typical question of Swiss family and procedural law. For the legal assessment, what matters is not catchwords or personal attributions, but the established facts, the relevant legal basis and the concrete effects of the requested or ordered measure.
Courts must distinguish between parties’ submissions, documented facts, evidence and their own findings. An application does not in itself prove the factual prerequisites it asserts. Conversely, a relevant, substantiated fact must not be disregarded solely because it was introduced by a party.
In family law, the welfare of the child is central in matters concerning children. At the same time, procedural guarantees such as the right to be heard, access to files, a comprehensible reasoning and an appropriate assessment of evidence apply. Interventions must be suitable, necessary and proportionate.
A good legal documentation therefore states the date, document type, author or official role, the content of the specific action and its procedural status. It avoids motives that are not substantiated, and explicitly indicates whether something is a party’s allegation, an official action, a judicial finding, or an editorial classification.
For those affected, it is regularly crucial to keep a complete personal chronology, to preserve submissions and service documents, and to pay attention to clear requests. Where the factual situation changes, it must be examined whether new facts can still be introduced in the ongoing proceedings and which remedies are available.
Further articles
Editorial specialist article. Not individual legal advice. Prior to publication, the status of legislation and case law as well as the sources must be checked again.