Unauthorized use of pawns
The unauthorized use of pawns is one of the few cases of criminal presumption in German criminal law. Another exceptional case is the unauthorized use of vehicles ( § 248b StGB ).
Offense
The offense of § 290 StGB reads:
Public pawnbrokers who use the items they have pledged without authorization will be punished with imprisonment for up to one year or with a fine.
Public pawnbrokers are pawnbrokers whose business is freely accessible to the public. A license is not important ( Section 34 GewO and the Pflandleiher Ordinance are therefore not relevant).
The use requires that a pledged item against the will is (therefore unauthorized) use of the pledgor from the pawnbroker. If the pledger is completely ousted from his position, this is a case of embezzlement ( Section 246 of the Criminal Code). The deposit must therefore be able to be returned to the pledger after use.
Another pledge by the pawnbroker is a use of the pledge.
On the subjective side, simple intent is sufficient according to § 15 StGB .
Protection purpose
The offense is intended to protect the pledger from an item pledged by him from being endangered by the pawnbroker. Protected property is therefore the property or the legitimate possession of the pledger.
For the interpretation, at least the classification in the section of the offenses, which are referred to as " criminal self-interest " does not help .
