Normative element of the offense
A normative element of the offense is an objective element of the offense in criminal law, which needs to be filled in by other legal norms. The opposite is the descriptive factual feature , which can be determined by measurements, calculations or experiments.
The distinction becomes clear, for example, in Section 328 (1) of the German Criminal Code. Here, the characteristic of the nuclear fuel and that of the required permit are normative factual characteristics, since they must be filled in and defined by auxiliary standards (in the Atomic Energy Act and other laws). On the other hand, other radioactive material in Paragraph 1 No. 2 is a descriptive factual feature, since the radioactivity of a material can be determined with measurements.
In the case of an error, the distinction is important for the case examination, since errors about the existence of a normative factual feature can lead to factual errors as well as to prohibition errors. For more details, see the teaching of errors in German criminal law
