British town council strikes again!

AntEater · 07-25-08, 05:35 AM

I suppose it is the same as a "Gemeindevorstand would be in german.
The only difference is that while our communities are also responsible for low level law enforcement, they are doing this under supervision of the state ministry of interior.
So either the whole state goes insane or there's a balance to low level insanity...
On the other hand, it seems to me that the differentiation between "Straftat" and "Ordnungswidrigkeit" is the most rational thing ever to come out of german law.
For non germans, minor offenses are not considered criminal in germany.
You can get fined for dumping trash or whatever minor offense, but it does not go on criminal record, you can't get arrested because of it and these laws are enforced by unarmed civil servants rather than police.

Skybird · 07-25-08, 05:55 AM

Barely ever heared "Gemeindevorstände" taking some action that made it into the news. Or my awareness, for that matter.

AntEater · 07-25-08, 07:24 AM

Yes, because here, communities do not uphold the law all by themselves.
While communities are responsible here for petty offenses, they carry out this duty under oversight from the respective state ministry of interior.
This british thing is strange because communal self-administration was originally to PREVENT the state from messing with people's lives, not to facilitate it.
Problem with communal administration is that there is no seperation of powers, as communities have both legislative and executive functions.

07-25-08, 05:35 AM	#1
AntEater Grey Wolf Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 936 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I suppose it is the same as a "Gemeindevorstand would be in german. The only difference is that while our communities are also responsible for low level law enforcement, they are doing this under supervision of the state ministry of interior. So either the whole state goes insane or there's a balance to low level insanity... On the other hand, it seems to me that the differentiation between "Straftat" and "Ordnungswidrigkeit" is the most rational thing ever to come out of german law. For non germans, minor offenses are not considered criminal in germany. You can get fined for dumping trash or whatever minor offense, but it does not go on criminal record, you can't get arrested because of it and these laws are enforced by unarmed civil servants rather than police. __________________

07-25-08, 05:55 AM	#2
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 42,643 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Barely ever heared "Gemeindevorstände" taking some action that made it into the news. Or my awareness, for that matter. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

07-25-08, 07:24 AM	#3
AntEater Grey Wolf Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 936 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Yes, because here, communities do not uphold the law all by themselves. While communities are responsible here for petty offenses, they carry out this duty under oversight from the respective state ministry of interior. This british thing is strange because communal self-administration was originally to PREVENT the state from messing with people's lives, not to facilitate it. Problem with communal administration is that there is no seperation of powers, as communities have both legislative and executive functions. __________________