Article 393 of the Criminal Code

What Article 393 of the Criminal Code punishes

Article 393 punishes the use of a forged document, among the offences of documentary forgery. It applies to anyone who, knowing it to be false, presents in court a forged document covered by the preceding articles of the chapter (forgery of public, official, commercial or private documents), or uses it to harm someone else. Unlike the preceding articles, which punish whoever physically forges the document, Article 393 punishes anyone who, without having taken part in the forgery, knowingly uses a document they know to be false.

The Supreme Court has clarified that the harm referred to in the provision must be real and effective, although it need not actually materialise: the conduct must pursue concrete harm to a third party, not merely hypothetical harm. That is why showing someone else's document without that prospect of real harm —for example, during a routine police check with no intention of obtaining any benefit or harming anyone— may fall outside the offence under the principle of minimum criminal-law intervention.

Penalty

The penalty is one degree lower than that set for forgers of the corresponding document, meaning its severity varies depending on the type of forged document used: the penalty differs for a public, official, commercial or private document, since each carries a different penalty under the preceding articles of the chapter.

Common scenarios

This offence commonly arises in submitting contracts, invoices, payslips or certificates forged by a third party to a bank in order to obtain a loan or a mortgage; in using forged identity documents, driving licences or academic qualifications before authorities or companies to obtain a benefit (getting a job, renting a home, passing a check); and in filing false documentation in civil, labour or administrative proceedings to support a financial claim.

Defense strategy

Under recent Supreme Court case law, the central plank of the defense should be exactly this requirement of real harm: if the use of the document neither sought nor could cause concrete harm to a third party, the conduct falls outside the offence. It is also essential to establish that the person using the document was unaware of its falsity, since the offence requires direct intent —"knowingly"—, so someone who uses a forged document without knowing it is forged does not commit this crime. Finally, it is worth checking whether the specific document truly falls within one of the categories of documentary forgery under the preceding articles, and whether it was actually used in court proceedings or with the intent to harm a third party that the provision requires.