The Strafgesetzbuch is the German, Swiss and Austrian criminal law. It is often abbreviated to StGB. This article focuses on the German code. Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of common law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ...

History

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. Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1919: black-white-red Coat of arms The term German Empire commonly refers to Germany, from its foundation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Flag of North German Confederation, 1867-1871 The North German Confederation (in German, Norddeutscher Bund), came into existence in 1867, following the dissolution of the German Confederation. ...

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 and constitutional provision granted by the Grundgesetz, but also to scientific and technical reforms. Examples of such new crimes are money laundering or computer sabotage. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of modern Germany. ... Money laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. ... A computer is a machine for manipulating data according to a list of instructions - a program. ... Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening an enemy through subversion, obstruction, disruption, and/or destruction. ...

The StGB serves as a codification of criminal law, i.e. although there are various provisions affecting criminal law, such as definitions of crimes and law enforcement, in other acts, the StGB is the central legal text and constitutes the foundation of Germany's criminal law. For linguistic codification, see codification (linguistics). ...

Structure

The StGB is divided into two main parts:

General Part ("Allgemeiner Teil"): in which general issues are arranged, for example:

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

Special Part ("Besonderer Teil"): in which the different criminal offences and their definitions and punishments are listed, for example: sexual abuse is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer as a response to something unwanted that the wrongdoer has done. ... A fine is money paid as a financial punishment for the commission of minor crimes or as the settlement of a claim. ... A prison is a place in which people are confined and deprived of a range of liberties. ...

• Crimes against the democratic rule of law
• Crimes against public order
• Crimes against the person of a sexual nature
• Crimes against life
• Crimes against another person's wealth (for example robbery and theft)