The initiation of the procedure is generally always ex officio. The only exception are private prosecution offenses. Therefore, if there is a corresponding suspicion, the authority is obliged to initiate a procedure. The initiation is carried out by taking prosecution action – any official act of the administrative authority directed against a specific person as a defendant (e.g., summons, issuance of an administrative penalty order).
It should be noted that prosecuting a person is not permissible if no prosecution actions have been taken against them within the one-year statute of limitations period. The period starts to run upon completion of the punishable behavior.
