Law enforcement agency

This article explains the enforcement authority for the collection of public claims; for the collection of claims under private law through enforcement against movable property, see bailiff , through enforcement against immovable property see forced auction . For the enforcement of criminal judgments cf. Public prosecutor's office as the enforcement authority for criminal proceedings.

This article or paragraph presents the situation in Germany . Help us to describe the situation in other countries.

The enforcement authority is the authority that is responsible for the collection of outstanding debts of the municipalities , districts , states , the federal government and other public corporations.

In contrast to claims under private law, in most federal states it is not the bailiff or the enforcement court that acts at the local court, but the enforcement authority. The enforcement authority employs its own enforcement officers (in Lower Saxony "enforcement officers") and is mostly part of the municipality / joint municipality / city / district treasury or a state authority (e.g. tax offices, Hanover monastery chamber , customs offices), which are governed by law on public law Enforcement were authorized. In accordance with the provisions of the Lower Saxony Municipal Constitutional Act , a municipality in Lower Saxony can also transfer the tasks of the enforcement authority to its municipal institutions under public law under certain circumstances. This is the case, for example, in the Nienburg / Weser district of the Nienburg / Weser waste management company, an institution under public law.

Enforcement at the state or local level is based on state law provisions and, in the case of tax offices and federal authorities, corresponding federal regulations such as the Tax Code or the Administrative Enforcement Act and not primarily according to the Code of Civil Procedure , which as a rule is at least partially, in particular with regard to the seizure exemption limits and the seizure of Property is declared applicable.

In principle, the enforcement authority will act on so-called public law claims such as For example: sales tax, income tax, wage tax, trade tax , property tax , dog tax , waste fees, sewer fees, chimney sweep fees, fines , broadcasting fees and BAföG .

Within the enforcement authorities there is usually a distinction between enforcement field service and enforcement internal service.

The field service

The field service is carried out by the enforcement officers . The powers differ greatly depending on the federal state. In general, however, it can be said that the field service takes on the role of bailiff. The primary task is therefore to seek out the debtor and pledge movable property. It is important that the enforcement officers are sovereign, which is why z. B. A house ban issued by a debtor can be lifted at any time by an easy-to-obtain court order ("door opening and search order").

The back office

The main task of the back office is to carry out garnishment of claims. Offsetting is paramount. The garnishment of wages and accounts as well as the garnishment of claims against credit card companies are well known. The garnishment of rent and claims from invoices are also frequently carried out. The tasks of the office staff also include applying for the foreclosure auction of land and the initiation of insolvency proceedings .

Criminal law

According to German criminal law - which has nothing to do with the enforcement authority factually and thematically - the competent authority for enforcement is basically the public prosecutor's office (and there the judicial officer ). In juvenile criminal law, the juvenile judge is responsible for managing enforcement. The officers working in the correctional facility are called prison officers .

Please note the information on legal issues!