Rewarding and approving crime

Rewarding and approving criminal offenses ( § 140 StGB) is an offense of the German Criminal Code , which aims to protect the legal interest of public peace and prevent a psychological climate in which crimes can flourish. The incitement to criminal offenses ( § 130a of the Criminal Code) is punishable.

The act of offense consists in the perpetrator either rewarding the offenses listed in the catalog of the norm or approving them in a way that is likely to disturb the public peace. The advantage of the reward does not have to be of a material nature, but can consist of an (ideal) award, which the perpetrator gives to another as a sign of recognition.

The criminal liability of rewarding criminal offenses applies without restriction. Adequate publicity and an actual or probable disturbance of the public peace must exist for the approval to be punishable. Both offenses are threatened with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine.

Legal position

Section 140 of the Criminal Code reads as follows:

Anyone who performs one of the unlawful acts mentioned in section 138 (1) numbers 2 to 4 and 5, the last alternative in section 126 (1) or an unlawful act under section 176 (3), under sections 176a and 176b, under section 177 (4) bis 8 or according to Section 178, after it has been committed or attempted in a criminal way,

1. rewarded or

2. Approves it in a way that is likely to disturb the public peace, publicly, in a meeting or by distributing writings (Section 11 Paragraph 3),

is punished with imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine.

Because of the standard range of penalties of up to three years' imprisonment or a fine, it is an offense under Section 12 (2) of the Criminal Code .

The standard refers to Paragraphs 138 and 126 of the Criminal Code (failure to report or threats of criminal offenses), which in turn refer to a large number of crimes . The criminal offenses affected by the standard include the areas of high treason and treason , serious breach of the peace , murder and manslaughter , war crimes and genocide in accordance with the International Criminal Code , serious bodily harm , serious offenses against personal freedom, arson and other publicly dangerous offenses, counterfeiting , security, payment card and forgery of checks. The areas of sexual abuse of children and rape in particularly serious cases are also explicitly listed in Section 140 of the Criminal Code .

Individual evidence

↑ Section 140 of the Criminal Code, reward and approval of criminal offenses. In: Eduard Dreher , Herbert Tröndle : Criminal Code and Ancillary Laws (= Beck's short comments. Vol. 10). 44th, revised edition. Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32969-1 , p. 798.

↑ Section 140 of the Criminal Code, reward and approval of criminal offenses. In: Adolf Schönke , Theodor Lenckner : Criminal Code. Comment. 25th, revised edition. Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-39501-5 , p. 697.

↑ Section 140 of the Criminal Code, reward and approval of criminal offenses. In: Eduard Dreher, Herbert Tröndle: Criminal Code and Ancillary Laws (= Beck's short comments. Vol. 10). 44th, revised edition. Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32969-1 , p. 799.

[1] Section 140 of the Criminal Code, reward and approval of criminal offenses. In: Eduard Dreher , Herbert Tröndle : Criminal Code and Ancillary Laws (= Beck's short comments. Vol. 10). 44th, revised edition. Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32969-1 , p. 798.

[2] Section 140 of the Criminal Code, reward and approval of criminal offenses. In: Adolf Schönke , Theodor Lenckner : Criminal Code. Comment. 25th, revised edition. Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-39501-5 , p. 697.

[3] Section 140 of the Criminal Code, reward and approval of criminal offenses. In: Eduard Dreher, Herbert Tröndle: Criminal Code and Ancillary Laws (= Beck's short comments. Vol. 10). 44th, revised edition. Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32969-1 , p. 799.