Catch-all
A catch- all offense refers to more general legal provisions in criminal law that are applicable if other, more specific legal provisions do not apply or cannot be proven to the perpetrator. This corresponds to the subsidiarity principle . Special facts have priority over the more general facts and thus over the catch-all facts: lex specialis derogat legi generali (German: “the more specific law supersedes the more general laws”). If both negligence and willful intent are punishable in a criminal offense, negligence can be convicted if the intent cannot be proven.
Example: In German law, embezzlement is a catch-all offense if neither theft nor fraud are relevant (in the case of property crimes ).
