To relieve the administrative authorities, there is the possibility, under certain conditions, to impose penalties without prior investigation. The VStG provides for three types of abbreviated criminal proceedings:
- Penalty order:
If an administrative offense is reported by a court, an administrative authority, a public supervisory body, or a military authority on the basis of their own official perception or a confession made before them, the authority can impose a fine by penalty order without further proceedings. This is also possible if the punishable behavior is detected through traffic surveillance (e.g., speed camera photos).
The remedy against the penalty order is objection, which can be filed within two weeks of service.
- Anonymous order:
The anonymous order is essentially a penalty order against an unknown perpetrator. Thus, the administrative authority can refrain from investigating the perpetrator in certain cases and impose a fine of up to EUR 365. The anonymous order must be delivered to a person from whom the authority can assume that they know or can easily identify the perpetrator.
No remedy is provided against the anonymous order. If not paid within the deadline, it becomes void, and the administrative authority has to clarify the facts or identify the perpetrator.
- Organizational penalty order:
The administrative authorities can authorize specially trained organs of public supervision to impose fines of up to EUR 90 for certain offenses if the administrative offense was perceived by these organs in the course of official duties. In contrast to penalty orders and anonymous orders, organizational penalty orders are not issued by the administrative authority.
There is no remedy against the organizational penalty order either. If payment is refused, the organizational penalty order becomes void, and the organ must report the matter to the administrative authority, which must then issue a penalty order or initiate regular criminal proceedings.
