The Crime of Forgery in Egyptian Legislation
-The crime of forgery is: an alteration of the truth in an instrument with the intention of relying on it, in a way that causes harm to others. The crime rests on three elements:
The material element: altering the truth in an instrument by one of the methods specified by law.
Harm: the alteration must be capable of causing harm, actual or potential, material or moral, to the individual or to society.
The mental element (criminal intent): general intent, which is knowledge of the alteration of the truth and the will to do so, and specific intent, which is the intention to use the forged instrument for the purpose for which it was forged.
Methods of forgery
Material forgery: leaves a visible trace on the instrument, such as affixing forged signatures or seals, altering instruments, seals or signatures, adding words, or inserting forged names or pictures of other persons.
Intellectual forgery: leaves no visible trace and occurs at the time the instrument is drawn up, such as altering the declarations of the parties concerned, presenting a forged fact as a true fact knowing it to be forged, or presenting an unacknowledged fact as an acknowledged one.
Penalties:
Every holder of a public office who, in the course of his duties, commits forgery in judgments issued, reports, records, documents, registers, ledgers or other official instruments and papers is punished with aggravated imprisonment or imprisonment.
Every person who does not hold a public office and commits a forgery of the kind set out in the preceding article is punished with aggravated imprisonment or imprisonment for a maximum of ten years.
Intellectual forgery committed by an official in a public agency or a court while drawing up the instruments within his competence.
Whoever uses the forged papers mentioned in the three preceding articles knowing them to be forged is punished with aggravated imprisonment or imprisonment from three to ten years.
Every forgery or use committed in an instrument of a joint-stock company, a cooperative society, a legally established syndicate, or a public-benefit institution or association is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years.
Forgery in customary instruments “Penal Code”: anyone who commits forgery in instruments of private persons by one of the methods set out above, or uses a forged paper knowing it to be forged, is punished. The legislator separated forgery from use, making each a crime in its own right, providing for the use of official papers in Article 214 and for the use of customary papers in Article 215.
The criterion for distinguishing between official and customary in forgery (what counts in characterizing the instrument is the body to which it is attributed and from which it appears to have been issued, not the person of the forger. If the paper, had it been issued genuinely, would have been an official paper issued by a competent public official, then forgery in it is forgery in an official instrument even if committed by an ordinary person).
Counterfeiting seals
If it is proven that the maker of the certificate counterfeited the seal of the Real Estate Registry, for example, or its official emblem, the provision on counterfeiting government seals and marks may apply alongside forgery, and it is a crime in its own right. A connection between them may be established, so that the more severe penalty is applied in accordance with the Penal Code.
Agreement: he agreed with the signatory to issue an untrue certificate in return for a sum of money, and the money transfer is material evidence of this.
Incitement: he is the one who requested the certificate and moved the will of the perpetrator to produce it.
Assistance: his sending of his personal data is an act facilitating or preparing the crime within the meaning of the Penal Code, while paying the money is closer to agreement. Most likely his conduct will be characterized as agreement or incitement, because he is the interested party and the requester. The law provides that the accomplice is punished with the penalty of the perpetrator (aggravated imprisonment or imprisonment for a maximum of ten years).
Use of the forged instrument
Using the certificate while knowing it to be forged is an independent crime, punishable by aggravated imprisonment or imprisonment from three to ten years. He is liable for it even if his participation in the forgery itself is not proven. The element of knowledge is apparently established, because he holds only an intermediate certificate, and he is the one who requested the certificate and paid for it.
-Forgery and use may be inseparably linked because they serve a single purpose, so the more severe penalty may be imposed without multiple punishments. This remains for the trial court to assess.
From the rulings of the Court of Cassation
1. Harm in the forgery of official instruments
Appeal No. 2047 of judicial year 91 / Appeal No. 10541 of judicial year 95 / Appeal No. 3359 of judicial year 95 / Appeal No. 8042 of judicial year 95.
2. Criminal intent
Appeal No. 36562 of judicial year 73 / Appeal No. 11994 of judicial year 89 / Appeal No. 197 of judicial year 95
3. Participation in forgery and use of the instrument
Appeal No. 13881 of judicial year 88 / Appeal No. 7926 of judicial year 87 / Appeal No. 7063 of year 56 / Appeal No. 480 of judicial year 34.
In conclusion, forgery is an alteration of the truth in an instrument by one of the legal methods, resting on the material element, harm and criminal intent. What counts in determining the character of the instrument is the body to which it is attributed: a certificate attributed to a government body is an official instrument, and one attributed to a private body is a customary instrument.
The characterization and the penalty change if it turns out that the body is not governmental or that the paper is fabricated in a way that deceives no one.