As of: February 13, 2024, 7:17 p.m
By: Bjarne Kommnick
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In most cases, double punishment is not permitted in Germany.
But in exceptional cases, traffic fines can be imposed twice.
Kassel - Anyone who does something forbidden is protected from double punishment in Germany according to Article 103 of the Basic Law.
It states: “No one may be punished more than once for the same offense under the general criminal laws.”
This also applies to administrative offenses, based on the Latin motto “ne bis in idem”, meaning “not twice in the same matter”.
But in some cases there are legitimate exceptions, as a court ruling from Schleswig-Holstein shows.
The deadline for the main inspection has expired for over 8 months - man is punished twice
As the Schleswig-Holstein state portal reports, an employee of the public order office discovered a parked car during a tour in Travemünde, whose general inspection by the TÜV was already several months overdue.
According to bussgeldkatalog.de, this usually results in a fine of 60 euros and one point in Flensburg.
There is also a risk of fines if drivers are stranded on the road without a tank.
In some exceptional cases, the public order office can impose two fines for the same offense, as the district court in Lübeck has now decided.
© IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer
However, after receiving a fine in Travemünde, the vehicle owner subsequently lodged an objection with the Lübeck District Court in Lübeck.
Because just a few days earlier he had received the same fine notice from the public order office in Hamburg.
The man therefore felt it was unfair to be prosecuted twice for the same offense.
He demanded to be protected from further fine notices at least as long as the notice from Hamburg was not legally binding.
District court allows double punishment - driver could continue violation unhindered
However, the judges from the district court in Lübeck came to a different opinion.
Accordingly, a new suspicion of this administrative offense is possible, even though the man has already received another fine notice.
The reason for this is that he could otherwise continue the violation unhindered and unpunished for too long a period of time.
Therefore, an acquittal of the fine would contradict the clear will of the legislature to effectively prosecute administrative offenses.
But this judgment is not yet legally binding.
Committed two administrative offenses: What is the difference between unity of offense and majority of offense?
Things would be different if two administrative offenses took place in so-called unity.
According to bussgeldkatalog.de, this is the case, for example, when a driver is caught while holding his cell phone.
According to the law, the driver has committed two violations, but the fine is based on the higher of the two.
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However, if there is a majority of offenses, i.e. several acts and therefore several offenses are fulfilled, the fine for the two administrative offenses is added together.
However, it is important that the actions are recognized as independent and independent.
Recently, a man even lost his driver's license because he drank alcohol at home.