The city pools of Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance have a Haus- und Badeordnung, house and bathing rules. The version in force from 9 May 2026 says: Das Aufsichtspersonal und weitere Beauftragte des Bades üben gegenüber allen Badegästen das Hausrecht aus. The supervising staff and other agents of the pool hold the Hausrecht over all guests. This is the right to decide who may stay on the premises. Den Anweisungen des Personals oder weiterer Beauftragter der Anlage ist Folge zu leisten. The instructions of the staff must be followed. A guest who breaks the rules can be sent out of the pool at once. Die Benutzung der Sprunganlagen ist nur nach Freigabe durch das Aufsichtspersonal gestattet. The diving boards may be used only after the supervising staff have opened them. The school swimming pools of the district of Kelheim in Bavaria say much the same. Das Personal trifft die hierzu nötigen Anordnungen, denen stets Folge zu leisten ist. The staff give the necessary orders, and these must always be followed.
Who Decides on a Stormy School Day
In February 2020 heavy storm gusts were forecast for all of North Rhine-Westphalia. The state’s school ministry explained who decides what. Demnach entscheiden die Eltern, ob der Schulweg zumutbar und sicher ist. The parents decide whether the way to school is reasonable and safe. If lessons end early, the school must look after the students who are present. Über eine etwaige Schulschließung entscheidet der Schulträger. The school’s operator decides whether to close the school. After the extreme winter weather of January 2026, the ministry of education in Hesse set out the same division. The school leadership decides, together with the operator, usually the town or district, whether classes in the building are cancelled. Parents dürfen selbst entscheiden, ob der Weg zumutbar ist, may decide for themselves whether the way is reasonable. If they keep their child at home, they must tell the school through the usual channels.
The Hunt Leader
Bei Gesellschaftsjagden muss der Unternehmer einen Jagdleiter bestimmen, wenn er nicht selbst diese Aufgabe wahrnimmt. At a group hunt, the organizer must appoint a hunt leader, unless he takes on the role himself. The rule is in the accident prevention regulation for hunting, VSG 4.4. Die Anordnungen des Jagdleiters sind zu befolgen. The hunt leader’s orders must be followed. Before the hunt starts, he instructs the shooters and the beaters. This briefing is called die Jagdansprache, the hunt address. In a drive hunt, he assigns each shooter a stand. He also marks exactly the area into which that shooter may fire. A shooter may not move or leave his stand before the drive is over, unless the hunt leader decides otherwise. In April 2026 the agricultural social insurance SVLFG and the Lower Saxony hunting association announced joint seminars for hunt leaders.
One Signature per Batch
Before a batch of medicine made in Germany may be sold, one named person must sign it off. The Medicines Act calls her die sachkundige Person, the qualified person. Die sachkundige Person nach § 14 ist dafür verantwortlich, dass jede Charge des Arzneimittels entsprechend den Vorschriften über den Verkehr mit Arzneimitteln hergestellt und geprüft wurde. She is responsible for making sure that each batch was made and tested according to the law on medicines. She must certify this for each batch in a running register before it goes on the market. Sometimes a batch is made in several stages or at other sites. The regulation on drug manufacturing then lets her use confirmations from other qualified persons. But sie ist für die Freigabe zum Inverkehrbringen der Charge insgesamt persönlich verantwortlich. She remains personally responsible for releasing the batch as a whole. Medicines may be placed on the market only after this release.
The Responsible Electrician
Many companies that run electrical installations are led by managers who are not electricians. A training guide on the verantwortliche Elektrofachkraft, the responsible electrical specialist, notes that such a manager kann die Fachverantwortung nicht übernehmen, cannot take on the technical responsibility. The company therefore appoints a qualified electrician to that role in writing. The role is based on the standard DIN VDE 1000-10. KomNet, the occupational safety advice service of North Rhine-Westphalia, explains what the appointment means. Eine verantwortliche Elektrofachkraft unterliegt hinsichtlich der Einhaltung der elektrotechnischen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen keinen fachlichen Weisungen. On electrical safety measures, she takes no technical instructions. Für die elektrische Sicherheit sind nur die verantwortlichen Elektrofachkräfte und nicht die ausschließlich disziplinarischen Vorgesetzten verantwortlich. Only the responsible electrical specialists are accountable for electrical safety. Superiors who manage her only as personnel are not. A model appointment certificate from the statutory accident insurer VBG states that she is hinsichtlich der fachlichen Aufgaben weisungsfrei, free of instructions in her technical tasks. Both the company management and the appointee sign it.
When the Supervisor Cannot Be Reached
The German Occupational Safety and Health Act, das Arbeitsschutzgesetz, says what workers may do in sudden danger. In Section 9, the decision belongs first to the responsible supervisor. Employees facing an immediate and serious danger must be able to take suitable measures themselves wenn der zuständige Vorgesetzte nicht erreichbar ist, when the responsible supervisor cannot be reached. Den Beschäftigten dürfen aus ihrem Handeln keine Nachteile entstehen, es sei denn, sie haben vorsätzlich oder grob fahrlässig ungeeignete Maßnahmen getroffen. They may not be penalized for acting, unless they took unsuitable measures on purpose or with gross negligence. The employer must also make it possible for workers to bring themselves to safety durch sofortiges Verlassen der Arbeitsplätze, by leaving their workplaces at once. Den Beschäftigten dürfen hierdurch keine Nachteile entstehen. A worker who walks off a site because a trench wall starts to give way may not be punished for it.
The Commander of the Gorch Fock
In November 2010, a 25-year-old officer cadet fell to her death from the rigging of the navy’s sail training ship Gorch Fock. There were also accusations that members of the permanent crew had harassed cadets. On 22 January 2011, Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg had the ship’s commander, Captain Norbert Schatz, removed from his command. He was relieved for the duration of the investigation. In March 2011, the navy’s commission of inquiry found that the accusations against the ship’s leadership were largely untenable. Its findings also cleared the commander. Members of parliament from both government and opposition then spoke up for him. The SPD’s Hans-Peter Bartels said he must be rehabilitated. The CDU’s Jürgen Hardt said: Ich kann der Marineführung nur dringend anraten, Herrn Schatz wieder in sein Kommando einzusetzen. I can only urge the navy leadership to put Mr. Schatz back in command.
Experts No Boss Can Instruct
The professional code of German doctors says that doctors may not accept instructions from non-doctors on medical decisions. The Occupational Safety Act makes company doctors and safety specialists weisungsfrei, free of instructions, when they apply their expert knowledge. Company doctors are “subject only to their medical conscience.” A company’s data protection officer may receive no instructions on how to carry out the task. The Bundeswehr has a similar rule. A superior should not intervene in the medical or other specialist service of subordinates. The Federal Administrative Court explained in 2004 that the word “should” here means such intervention is forbidden in principle.
The Judge Assigned in Advance
Article 101 of the Basic Law says: Niemand darf seinem gesetzlichen Richter entzogen werden. No one may be removed from his lawful judge. In practice, the presiding committee of each court distributes the cases in a plan, the Geschäftsverteilungsplan. It makes this plan before the business year begins, for the whole year. The plan may be changed during the year only for narrow reasons, such as a judge who is overloaded. The judge for a case is therefore fixed in advance by a general rule.