Quasi-criminal Enforcement Mechanisms in Germany: Past and Present

Abstract

The investigation and judgment of all crimes really belongs to the criminal jurisdiction, independent of whether these crimes are large or small – and that is what the Roman jurists had specified. The Germans, however, by differentiating between bloody and non-bloody wounds, have caused very much turmoil. This quotation originating in 1786 shows how deeply rooted different enforcement mechanisms are in Germany. Before undertaking a more critical discussion of the present situation and its theoretical underpinnings, I will first set the scene by providing an historic overview, beginning with the dark ages of criminal justice in Germany and continuing up to today, where the Ordnungswidrigkeitenrecht as the legislative alternative to criminal sanctioning more or less also serves as a functional equivalent to corporate criminal liability (section II. below) . On this basis, I will analyse common features of this regulatory offence-based enforcement mechanism and its actual and alleged...