Strafrechtliche Amtsträger

Although there is a definition of the term »official« in the German Penal Code, the meaning and scope of this definition were and still are highly contentious. The uncertainty in relation to the meaning of the concept of an official in criminal law is alarming in view of the numerous criminal offences which draw on this term, since it is often the official capacity which is responsible for »all or nothing« decisions in criminal law. Claus Nils Leimbrock confronts this legal uncertainty and contributes to the clear-cut definition of a term which is generally regarded as being ambiguous. In doing so, he focuses on the wide scope of government privatization measures and the extent to which these involve a non-application of criminal law.