criminal liability
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criminal liability
The legal quality of an act that makes it punishable under the law, i.e., the prerequisite for someone being able to be punished for that act.
Das Gericht prüfte, ob die Voraussetzungen für eine Strafbarkeit wegen Diebstahls erfüllt waren.
The court examined whether the prerequisites for criminal liability for theft had been met.
The word is derived from the adjective 'strafbar' (punishable). The ending '-keit' turns adjectives into nouns that describe a quality or state. 'Strafbarkeit' (criminal liability/punishability) is therefore the quality of an act being punishable.
Eine Notwehrsituation kann die Strafbarkeit einer Körperverletzung aufheben.
A situation of self-defense can remove the criminal liability for bodily harm.
'Strafbarkeit' (criminal liability) is a precise term from legal language. It does not describe the punishment itself, but the legal prerequisite for an act to be punishable at all.
Der Anwalt argumentierte, dass die Strafbarkeit in diesem Fall nicht gegeben sei.
The lawyer argued that criminal liability did not exist in this case.
Common verbs in this context are 'prüfen' (to examine/check), 'feststellen' (to establish/determine), 'begründen' (to establish/justify), or 'ausschließen' (to rule out). The preposition 'wegen' (for/on account of) is often used to name the offense, e.g., 'die Strafbarkeit wegen Betrugs' (criminal liability for fraud).
Das Gericht muss nun die Strafbarkeit des Angeklagten prüfen.
The court must now examine the defendant's criminal liability.
guilt / debt
'die Schuld' and 'die Strafbarkeit' can both occur in connection with wrong or forbidden actions. 'Schuld' means that someone is responsible for a wrongful act or has behaved morally wrongly. 'Strafbarkeit' is a legal term: it describes whether an action can be punished under the law. The words can be confused because both involve misconduct. But not every instance of guilt is automatically punishable, and 'Strafbarkeit' is mainly about the law.
Im Gespräch erklärte die Anwältin die Strafbarkeit dieser Handlung.
During the discussion, the lawyer explained the criminal liability for this action.
Mein Freund fühlte Schuld, weil er die Wahrheit verschwiegen hatte.
My friend felt guilt because he had hidden the truth.