Bureaucrat

Officers are people who are subject to special German law criminal and liability law. The concept emerged in the era of National Socialism, where he was to overcome the narrow official term. The term was used at that time for all the functionaries of the Nazi Party, whose branches and affiliated organizations. These included the political leaders who were first identified in the early years of the party as " Official Walter". The content of the term is now defined differently in different areas of law in Germany.

It is not relevant whether the activities in the main office or is voluntary. Also, trainees, persons on probation or trainees can hold under certain circumstances officers status.

Officers perform official acts. Officials of the executive and the judiciary hold public office.

Criminal

The criminal law knows special offenses that can be ever committed by public officials (so-called "real official crime) ", and looks at some general walk offenses for public officials tougher penalties against (non-genuine Office offenses). The public official term has the former " criminal officials term" replaced and expanded.

Who's officials in the criminal sense, is legally defined in § 2 of the Criminal Code No. 11. Officers are then:

• Officer
• Judge
• Other people who are in a public official capacity (notaries, ministers and persons treated, Parliamentary Secretaries, Speaker of Parliament )
• To carry out functions of public administration other service forces that are called upon (for example, election officials, administrators, employees. )

This can also persons working at private parties, unless they are organizationally linked to an authority or public corporation, its officers. Although probably fall notaries as Entrusted with the formal function, to lawyers meets the formal function not to, even though they "free administration of justice " are according to § 1 of the Federal Lawyers' Act. Although soldiers are not official, but act as state agents. According to § 48 of the Military Penal Code, they are thus partly assimilated to public officials. Because of the separation of state and church are pastors and church officials generally not to the officials.

In some offenses, the officers are the "for public service particularly obligated 'assimilated (see vow ).

Staatshaftungsrecht

As a public official is in the German state liability law " someone " means that " in the exercise of a public office entrusted to him, " is (Art. 34 sentence 1 GG) and thus may cause claims of official liability. The Constitution, extending the constitutional officers term of § 839 BGB to all who act sovereign in a particular employment, job, entrustment, mortgage lending or employment. One speaks therefore of the " officials in tort law sense."