Juridical Document

(in Russian, juridical act), in the broad sense of the word, a document issued by an organ of state, by an official, or by a public organization that is acting on the instruction of a state—for example, in the USSR, by the Central Council of Trade Unions—within the limits of their competence and containing general normative or individually applicable orders that require compliance. A juridical document is issued in a form prescribed by law and, depending upon the organ of issuance, is called a law, decree, order, instruction, sentence, regulation, and so on.

Also called juridical documents are various documents that are drawn up in accordance with established legal procedure and which engender definite jural consequences—for example, a document concerning an accident at a place of work or an administrative report.