Strafgesetzbuch

The Strafgesetzbuch is the German, Swiss and Austrian criminal law. It is often abbreviated to StGB.

Related Topics:
German - Swiss - Austria - Criminal law

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The German Strafgesetzbuch goes back to the Strafgesetzbuch of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 which was mostly identical to the StGB of the North German Confederation.

Related Topics:
German Empire - 1871 - North German Confederation

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This Reichsstrafgesetzbuch (Imperial Criminal Law) was changed very many times in the following decades as the legislature had to react not only to changing moral concepts but also to scientific and technical reforms. Examples of such new crimes are money laundering or computer sabotage.

Related Topics:
Crime - Money laundering - Computer - Sabotage

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The StGB is divided into two main parts:

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General Part: in which general issues are arranged, for example:

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• Area of the law's validity
• Law-related definitions
• Capacity to be adjudged guilty
• Perpetration and incitement or accessoryship
• Necessary Defence
• Punishments (Fines, Imprisonment)
• Statutes of limitations

Special Part: in which the different criminal offences are listed, for example:

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• Crimes against the democratic rule of law
• Crimes against public order
• Crimes against the person of a sexual nature
• Crimes against life