Rights of Private Detectives in Stuttgart and Germany

Private detectives such as those of the Aaden Detective Agency Stuttgart are, under § 14 of the German Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung), considered commercial operators in Germany with unfortunately very minimal entry requirements. The regulatory office only checks personal suitability, meaning the certificate of good conduct and the central trade register. Proof of qualifications in the form of formal training, certification, or a relevant professional background in official investigative services is not required for detectives in Stuttgart or elsewhere in Germany, despite decades of efforts by professional associations. As a result, there are many inexperienced operators who are unfamiliar with the rights and duties of detectives and may thereby place themselves and their clients in difficult situations.

The Relevant Rights of Detectives in Detail

Since private investigators and corporate detectives in Stuttgart and throughout Germany are treated much like any other commercial operators and are not subject to special supervision, they are also not granted any special rights. This makes it all the more important for legally knowledgeable detectives to be familiar with the rights available to every citizen, particularly the rights of self-defense and self-help. These rights, which are utilized by the Aaden Detective Agency Stuttgart, include:

 

• Self-defense, § 32 German Criminal Code (StGB): “Self-defense is any defense that is necessary to avert a current unlawful attack against oneself or another.”
• Justifying necessity, § 34 StGB: “Whoever, in a present danger to life, limb, freedom, honor, property, or another legal interest that cannot otherwise be averted, commits an act in order to avert the danger from themselves or another does not act unlawfully. However, this applies only if the act is an appropriate means to avert the danger.”
• Self-defense and necessity pursuant to §§ 227 et seq. German Civil Code (BGB).
• Self-help, § 229 BGB: “Anyone who, for the purpose of self-help, removes, destroys, or damages an object, or who, for the purpose of self-help, apprehends an obligor suspected of fleeing, or eliminates the resistance of the obligor against an act which the obligor is obliged to tolerate, does not act unlawfully if official assistance cannot be obtained in time and without immediate intervention there is a risk that the realization of the claim will be prevented or significantly impeded.”
• Self-help of the possessor’s agent, § 860 BGB: “The person who exercises actual control on behalf of the possessor pursuant to § 855 [possessor’s agent] is also entitled to exercise the rights granted to the possessor under § 859 [self-help of the possessor].”
• Provisional arrest, § 127 Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO), para. 1: “If a person is caught in the act or pursued, and if there is a suspicion of flight or if their identity cannot be immediately established, anyone is authorized to provisionally arrest them even without a judicial order.”

Important Duties of Detectives in Germany

The detectives of the Aaden Detective Agency Stuttgart are, of course, fundamentally obliged to comply with criminal and civil law, the Basic Law, and the Trade Regulation Act. Some duties are of particular importance:

 

• Contractual obligations under a service contract, § 611 BGB: “By a service contract, the party promising services is obliged to perform the promised services, and the other party is obliged to grant the agreed remuneration.”
• Duties of witnesses; summons; § 48 StPO: “Witnesses are obliged to appear at the time specified for their examination before the judge. They are obliged to testify unless an exception permitted by law applies.”

Aaden Detectives Stuttgart

Lautenschlagerstraße 23

D-70173 Stuttgart

Tel.: +49 711 7153 011-0

Fax: +49 711 7153 011-9

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive-stuttgart.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive-stuttgart.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824