How to protect your reputation

Character assassination - Not standardized in the Criminal Code, the term has become established in particular in connection with negative reporting about celebrities. In ubiquitous usage, the term means making allegations that are likely to damage your reputation.  

The transparency of the Internet enables users to publicly evaluate everything and everyone. Not only private individuals are affected. Companies are also increasingly suffering from reputation-damaging comments on the Internet, for example in the form of Google reviews. This damage to reputation is often made possible by the anonymity of the Internet. Users can create anonymous accounts in social networks and thus systematically damage the reputation of their victims. For the victim, this causes enormous damage to their own reputation. In this article, we explain the relevant criminal offenses in the context of defamation of character and how you can take criminal action against the perpetrators.

Can defamation of character be punishable?


The German Criminal Code regulates the so-called defamation offenses in §§ 185 - 187. A distinction must be made between Verleumdung (in the following: defamation), üble Nachrede  (in the following: slander)  and Beleidigung  (in the following: insult) . 

1. Defamation, § 186 StGB

 Defamation according to § 186 StGB belongs to the "crimes of honor" and is always present when the punishable act violates the personal honor of another person. In brief, this means that the perpetrator must assert or disseminate facts that cannot be proven to be true and that contemptuously violate the honor of a victim.


Concrete examples from our practice of defamation would be:

A student reports at school that sports teacher Jameson secretly takes photos of female classmates in the locker room.

A Google user claims in his Google review that there are rats in the kitchen of the Chinese restaurant.

2. Insult, § 185 StGB

The facts of the case do not address the question of when exactly an insult is present. According to the prevailing opinion, an insult is generally understood to be the expression of disregard or disrespect by means of a value judgment. It does not depend on the fact that the victim himself feels the statements as defamatory, but on how an unbiased third party perceives the statements. Statements that are directed against entire groups, such as soldiers, are not suitable to fulfill the facts of § 185 StGB.

Concrete examples from our practice for an insult would be:


lousy piece of shit
right-wing child fucker

Only recently, the Bavarian Supreme Court dealt with the question of where the limits of freedom of speech are in connection with judges. It found that calling a judge ''human scum'' is a purely formal insult.  (Beschl. v. 03.02.2022, Az. 204 StRR 20/22)

3. Slander, § 187 StGB

Slander under Section 187 of the German Criminal Code (StGB), like the two previous offenses, is an "honor offense". It is therefore always present when untrue facts about a person are alleged or spread to a third person; in this sense, untrue facts must therefore be presented as true (defamatory rumor). This rumor, which is started by you through a third party, must hurt your honor; therefore, it must disparage you. 

In contrast to the criminal offense of insulting (announcement of a defamatory value judgment), defamation is a defamatory statement of fact. 

At first glance, the two criminal offenses of defamation and slander are similar in terms of the prerequisites for the offense. In contrast to defamation, the perpetrator knows exactly that his statement does not correspond to the truth. We know from our practice that it is particularly difficult to prove to the perpetrator that the facts spread by the person do not correspond to the truth.

So how do I defend myself now in the event of specific damage to my reputation?

To protect your good reputation, you should take action against the perpetrators as quickly as possible.

If we come to the conclusion that one of the aforementioned offenses has been committed, we will file a criminal complaint on your behalf. We have 3 months to do this from the time you become aware of the damage to your reputation. In addition to taking criminal action against the perpetrators, we also have the option of taking civil action against them. With an injunction we can obtain immediate protection for you against the defamatory statements. Subsequently, we will discuss with you whether an action for injunctive relief/damages makes sense in your specific case.

We have specialized in advising clients in the context of reputational damage cases. From our experience we know how to assess the overall situation in the best possible way and to work out an individual strategy for you.


On the other hand, we also advise clients who have been accused of concrete damage to their reputation and help them to defend themselves against the accusations.