Emigration fraud
The emigration fraud was a criminal offense in Germany .
The original version of § 144 StGB entered into force with the Reich Criminal Code on January 1, 1872 and was repealed by the Sixth Act to Reform the Criminal Law (Criminal Law Amendment Act) with effect from April 1, 1998 .
Wording of the legal text
The wording of the legal text in its last version before the repeal was as follows:
Anyone who makes it their business to entice Germans to emigrate under false pretenses or knowingly with unfounded information or other means calculated on deception will be punished with imprisonment for up to two years or with a fine.
Legal historical findings
The law was already in effect at the time of the German Empire , in the Weimar Republic and later in the Federal Republic , but not in the GDR or the new federal states . In order to harmonize the legal system after reunification and because of the minor importance of the penal provision, it was decided to repeal it by the federal legislature .
Legal system and elements of the offense
The emigration fraud offense was systematically classified as an offense against public order and not as a property offense . It was intended to protect German nationals against business-like, fraudulent enticement to emigrate. It was not necessary to obtain an unlawful financial advantage.
According to the jurisprudence, the term emigration had to be interpreted broadly: after the decision of the Reichsgericht, it did not exclude the realization of the facts if the emigrant thought of returning to Germany later.
Individual references and sources
- German Bundestag : Printed matter 13/7164 of March 11, 1997
- RGSt . 51, 351 cited from Leipziger Commentary, 8th edition 1957, § 144 StGB, No. V.
