DEFINITION OF ORGANIZED CRIME IN GERMANY

Abstract

The paper analyzes the definition of organized crime in Germany. Since the Criminal Code of Germany does not define this term, theoretical and practical approaches to its definition were first considered. On the other hand, criminal legislation recognizes the incrimination of organizing criminal associations, but the concept of criminal organization is not defined by the Code and is instead left to the interpretation of judicial practice. It follows that the question of whether an association meets the conditions for the existence of the mentioned criminal offense is very important, primarily for the sake of legal certainty. The paper also presents the criminological aspect of organized crime in Germany, bearing in mind that the mentioned theoretical and practical approaches in defining it relied heavily on the results of empirical research on the phenomenological and etiological features of organized crime.