By a criminal combination one understands an association about certain duration, whose purpose or activity is directed to commit criminal offences. The facts are in the German right in the section of the criminal offences against the public order and are to place above all Organisationsdelikte so mentioned under punishment, thus the gang criminality in such a way specified and the terrorism.

In the German criminal law the education and participation in a criminal combination are posed in "§ 129 StGB under punishment. In the Austrian criminal law the criminal combination is regulated in "§ 287 Austrian StGB. The education of a criminal combination belongs to the victimless criminal offences.

The following article treats primarily history and regulation of the German criminal law.

History and meaning

"§ 129 StGB an appropriate regulation was to already generally Prussian Landrecht of 1794 under the title "from the political crime at all and from the high treason". Already at that time those was used according to regulation mainly in order to pursue politically differently thinking.

1871 found the pursuit of a criminal combination in "§ to 129 StGB their precipitation. Soon thereafter the criminal offence existence was used, in order to pursue socialists and Social Democrats. In the national socialism pursuit under the pretext reached to fight a criminal combination its high point. Practically each other-thinking one, which did with others together, with the reason, it plans the education of a combination of terror, kriminalisiert.

The criminal offence existence was extended several times in the course of its history. Originally only the education of a criminal combination stood under punishment, still the support and 1964 the advertisement for a criminal combination under punishment was later placed.

Concerned ones of preliminary investigations and condemnations and were in the first years of the Federal Republic above all opponents of the rearmament and communist. In the time of 1950 to 1968 gave it over 100.000 preliminary investigations and about 10,000 condemnations because of participation in a criminal combination.

In the seventies the criminal offence existence was used against the members of the RAF. In order to limit and differentiate over between combinations with criminal background and such with political motives of terror the partially endless application "§ 129 StGB, 1976 were introduced "§ 129 A StGB. In it the participation in a combination of terror is placed under punishment. An exact distinction succeeded however so far not quite.

By 34. Criminal law law of change from 22 August 2002 (federal law gazette I P. 3390) was again extended the range of application. In the course of the counterterrorism after "11 September" by the again created "§ 129 b StGB the support of also foreign criminal and combinations of terror was placed under punishment.

Today the meaning "§ 129 StGB compared with in former times sank. In particular the number of the condemnations is declining. Raised in approximately five per cent of all determinations because of membership in a criminal combination accusation, about a per cent leads to the condemnation. For this reason "§ the 129 StGB also "" one calls, since the very most procedures without justification a national monitoring in the environment of the nearly arbitrarily selectable concerning legalisieren, without these can resist (already lack knowledge of the procedure). A slight first suspicion is sufficient, in order to receive extensive determination powers. Frequently lead the determinations too "coincidence finds so mentioned"

Criticism at the regulation

Into the criticism is guessed/advised "§ 129 StGB in particular because of the width of the facts. Almost any activity, which supports a criminal combination in any way, is posed under punishment. The combination must have existed neither nor ever become active. Also which is regarded as criminal, and/or of terror in the sense "§"§ of the 129, 129 A StGB, is not clearly defined and hangs, like history shows, frequently from the political and social basic conditions. Because of the Konturenlosigkeit of the facts it is among punishing lawyers a usual joke to advise against Zusamentreffen of a tax counsel with a GmbH managing director and an attorney since alone such a meeting already contains Anfangsverdachtder formation of a Vereinigungsdelikts after "§ 129 StGB, which took part to substantial consequences with in the meeting lead can: Indeed by the first suspicion of a criminal offence after "§"§ 129, 129 A StGB the powers of the prosecution authorities (public prosecutor's office, police) in the preliminary investigation are strongly expanded. Frequently the suspicion of a criminal combination is used to introduce extensive determinations. Result of these determinations frequently however only accusations are because of "more normal" crimes by the coincidence finds won with the determinations.

"§ the 129 StGB ranks among the catalog meeting acts in the aliens act, asylum proceeding law, law relating to associations, and weapon law. To the special powers, which the first suspicion opens with "§"§ 129, 129 A StGB, belong in particular post office control and telephone monitoring ( "§ 100a StPO), long-term Observationen ("§"§ 100c StPO exp. 1 A b and 163f StPO), which systematic use of V-people and investigators ("§ 110a StPO and/or "§ 110c StPO), the raster search, the moreover one the 1994 covered imported and 1999 run out principal witness regulation ("§ 129 exp. 2 StGB old version) and since 1998 also the large wire-tapping in and from dwellings ("§ 100c exp. 1, No. 3 StPO). Beyond that the fortune of the accused one of is subject to the complaint of the seizure on collection ("§ 443 StPO).

Also the political imbalance with the determinations is again and again criticized. For this the Bundestag faction of alliance 90/Die the Green asked 1996 a small inquiry in the Bundestag. It resulted that between 1990 and 1996 1116 preliminary investigations against left groupings, but only 23 preliminary investigations after "§ 129 StGB against right groups were introduced.

Related links

• Overview of history and application, politically colored
• To the expansion on foreign organizations

Articles in category "Criminal combination"

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