Criminal construction law encompasses criminal offences that can be committed in connection with the planning, the construction, the modification and the dismantling of buildings of all kinds. Classical manifestations of construction law in the narrower sense are the building hazard according to Section 319 StGB, the negligent bodily injury according to Section 229 StGB and the negligent homicide according to Section 222 StGB in the context of industrial accidents as well as the violation of environmental criminal law regulations and the causation of property damage, as far as these are connected with the conception or the realization of building projects.
Criminal offences and administrative offences, which also have a connection to labour criminal law, such as the illegal employment of foreigners according to Sections 10, 11 SchwarzArbG as well as the illegal hiring of temporary workers according to Sections 15 et seq. AÜG, fall under the construction criminal law in the broader sense. In addition, this includes corruption offences against public officials, such as the acceptance of advantages in accordance with Section 331 StGB, bribery in accordance with Section 332 StGB, the granting of advantages in accordance with Section 333 StGB, the bribery in accordance with Section 334 StGB and the particularly serious cases of active and passive corruption of public officials in accordance with Section 335 StGB. Furthermore, the offences of bribery and corruption in commercial transactions pursuant to Section 299 StGB are also assigned to this area.
In many cases, a tailor-made defence strategy can avoid serious criminal consequences for the company and its employees. However, since fines can be imposed at a sensitive level with consequences that threaten their existance, companies and their management should also take preventive measures and set up compliance systems to protect against the risk of criminal penalties and fines. In the case of an investigation already initiated, a competent legal assistance should be called upon without delay. Juergen Klengel has extensive criminal law expertise in the field of construction law and industrial accidents. He defends companies and individuals against allegations of violations of building criminal law regulations and in industrial accidents against the supervisory authorities, the public prosecutor’s offices and in court.