Penalties for offences committed under legal metrology regulations in Germany

摘要

The regulations governing legal metrology in the Federal Republic of Germany concern both regulatory law (to which trade and industry are subject), and protective rights of the consumer. The former regulates the correctness of measurements in commercial transactions, the latter the movement of goods between enterprises and the sale of goods to consumers. Of prime importance is the fairness of legal transactions, and thus of competition; the objective is to ensure that neither of the parties involved in commercial transactions (buyer and seller) suffers financial prejudice or other losses due to inaccurate measuring instruments or as a result of inadequate or excessive filling of prepackages. These concerns are of particular significance in the age of market globalization. The underlying intention is that the buyer of goods and measuring instruments can be totally sure that any products bought have the specified characteristics and will thus serve the purpose for which they were bought, irrespective of the country of origin. In particular in trade within free trade areas (such as the European Union), a structured exchange of goods without special border control measures is conceivable, but is only possible if the relevant regulations are effectively complied with in the producing country.