My lecture deals with three loosely connected topics, which are treatedtogether in German textbooks.
1. Acts authorized by law as mentioned in article 49, section 1, of thedraft.
2. Acts on the order of an authority, as mentioned in article 49, section 2,of the draft.
3. Acts for the purposes of education, as mentioned in article 49, section5, of the draft.
Initially, a German scholar would be tempted to view the provision inarticle 49, section 1, as redundant. From a German point of view, it isevident that someone, who is authorized by law to act in a certain way, doesnot do so unlawfully. One of the first principles German students learn intheir criminal law lectures, is that every act permitted by statute is ineffect the justification of what is by definition a criminal offence. Thisis derived from a principle, which we call “unity of law”. This means thatthere may not be any contradictions in the law, and that an act permitted byit cannot also be forbidden by criminal code.
