{"id":23382,"date":"2026-02-06T10:42:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T09:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abante.de\/reputational-protection-through-award-procedures\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T11:33:38","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T10:33:38","slug":"reputational-protection-through-award-procedures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/reputational-protection-through-award-procedures\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion\u00adal pro\u00adtec\u00adtion through award pro\u00adce\u00addures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speech at the open\u00ading of the Munich office of abante Ver\u00adgabean\u00adw\u00e4lte<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

On 29 Jan\u00adu\u00adary 2026, Dr. Christoph Kins, Man\u00adag\u00ading Direc\u00adtor and spe\u00adcial\u00adist lawyer for pub\u00adlic pro\u00adcure\u00adment law, gave the open\u00ading speech at the open\u00ading of the Munich office of abante Ver\u00adgabean\u00adw\u00e4lte. <\/p>\n\n

Below is the text of the speech.<\/p>\n\n

Ladies and gen\u00adtle\u00admen,<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Dear guests, dear friends of our law firm,<\/em><\/p>\n\n

I am delight\u00aded to wel\u00adcome you here today to the open\u00ading of our Munich loca\u00adtion \u2014 in Gang\u00adhofer\u00adstrasse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

We don\u2019t start with small talk, but with the ques\u00adtion:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Why is this place actu\u00adal\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading?<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Lud\u00adwig Gang\u00adhofer, the most famous name\u00adsake of the mas\u00adter builder Gang\u00adhofer, after whom this street is named, Lud\u00adwig Gang\u00adhofer was one of the most suc\u00adcess\u00adful pop\u00adu\u00adlar writ\u00aders of the first half of the 20th cen\u00adtu\u00adry. A lit\u00ader\u00adary star of his time. And at the same time a close friend of Lud\u00adwig Thoma \u2014 lawyer, satirist, pub\u00adli\u00adcist, provo\u00adca\u00adteur. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

The two not only shared a friend\u00adship, but also a deep under\u00adstand\u00ading that lan\u00adguage has an effect. And that it does\u00adn\u2019t always have to adhere to the bound\u00adaries of good taste, or even be allowed to. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

In 1905 Gang\u00adhofer had to pro\u00advide legal assis\u00adtance to his friend Thoma (in the fol\u00adlow\u00ading I rely on Otto Gritschned\u00ader, Weit\u00adere Randbe\u00admerkun\u00adgen, Munich 1986, p. 95 ff.).<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The occa\u00adsion: a poem.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The pre\u00advi\u00adous year, a con\u00adfer\u00adence of Ger\u00adman moral\u00adi\u00adty asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions had tak\u00aden place in Cologne, fol\u00adlowed by an inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal con\u00adfer\u00adence against \u201cimmoral lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture\u201d. Thoma had not attend\u00aded and did not know the Protes\u00adtant pas\u00adtors involved. Nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless, he pub\u00adlished a dia\u00adtribe in Sim\u00adpli\u00adcis\u00adsimus \u2014 under the pseu\u00addo\u00adnym Peter Schlemihl \u2014 in which he called them, among oth\u00ader things, \u201cgod-awful bed-steal\u00aders\u201d, \u201cevan\u00adgel\u00adi\u00adcal un-slit can\u00addles\u201d and \u201cgrace-deliv\u00ader\u00ading shout\u00ading clubs\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

The judi\u00adcia\u00adry react\u00aded sen\u00adsi\u00adtive\u00adly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The main hear\u00ading took place in Stuttgart. Lud\u00adwig Gang\u00adhofer appeared as an expert wit\u00adness. He elo\u00adquent\u00adly explained what should be pos\u00adsi\u00adble in the name of artis\u00adtic free\u00addom. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

The judges were not con\u00advinced.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Thoma was con\u00advict\u00aded and spent six weeks in Stadel\u00adheim in 1906. After all, he wrote the com\u00ade\u00addy \u201cMoral\u201d and the \u201cStadel\u00adheim Diary\u201d there. So it was not with\u00adout con\u00adse\u00adquences \u2014 but it did not destroy his liveli\u00adhood either. Not even threat\u00aden\u00ading his exis\u00adtence. Lud\u00adwig Thoma was already doing very well eco\u00adnom\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly back then. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Let\u2019s jump for\u00adward a good hun\u00addred years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Today, no one goes to prison for such vil\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

On the con\u00adtrary.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In 2019, Bun\u00addestag mem\u00adber Renate K\u00fcnast had to take legal action all the way to the Fed\u00ader\u00adal Con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal Court to obtain the data of peo\u00adple who had called her \u201cyou old green dirty pig\u201d, \u201cold per\u00advert\u00aded dirty pig\u201d and \u201cpae\u00addophile trul\u00adla\u201d in the first place. The Berlin Region\u00adal Court and, in part, the Court of Appeal con\u00adsid\u00adered all of this to be per\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adble expres\u00adsions of opin\u00adion (deci\u00adsion of 21.01.2020 \u2014 27 AR 17\/19; for fur\u00adther pro\u00adceed\u00adings: KG, deci\u00adsion of 11.03.2020 \u2014 10 W 13\/20; BVer\u00adfG, deci\u00adsion of 19.12.2021 \u2014 1 BvR 1073\/20). Even the quite clear call for the use of vio\u00adlence \u201cI could smash these peo\u00adple\u2019s faces with such state\u00adments\u201d was con\u00adsid\u00adered to be \u201ccross\u00ading the line\u201d, but at the \u201clev\u00adel of polem\u00adi\u00adcal and point\u00aded crit\u00adi\u00adcism\u201d (see Kam\u00admerg\u00adericht loc. cit. para. 99).<\/em><\/p>\n\n

We are well aware of the real-world jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s just the way social media is. You have to live with it. Espe\u00adcial\u00adly as a politi\u00adcian. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

And this is where it gets legal\u00adly inter\u00adest\u00ading.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Because the pub\u00adlic pros\u00ade\u00adcu\u00adtor\u2019s office would actu\u00adal\u00adly be respon\u00adsi\u00adble. Insult is a crim\u00adi\u00adnal offense. The state not only has the right to inter\u00advene here, but also the duty to do so. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

In fact, how\u00adev\u00ader, the pub\u00adlic pros\u00ade\u00adcu\u00adtor\u2019s offices do not suc\u00adceed for a vari\u00adety of rea\u00adsons:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Over\u00adload, pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adti\u00adza\u00adtion, prob\u00adlems with evi\u00addence, delim\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtion dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties. Some things are also typ\u00adi\u00adcal of the times. Key\u00adwords here are: Part-time work. Or per\u00adhaps an over-prob\u00adlema\u00adti\u00adza\u00adtion and over\u00adsim\u00adpli\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion typ\u00adi\u00adcal of the gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

In any case, pro\u00adceed\u00adings are dis\u00adcon\u00adtin\u00adued and those affect\u00aded are referred to pri\u00advate pros\u00ade\u00adcu\u00adtion.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And it is expen\u00adsive. Too expen\u00adsive for a politi\u00adcian\u2019s salary. And above all: struc\u00adtural\u00adly inef\u00adfec\u00adtive against mass attacks. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

If the state does not act, a vac\u00adu\u00adum is cre\u00adat\u00aded.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And the mar\u00adket is try\u00ading to fill this vac\u00adu\u00adum.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

This is where mod\u00adels like So Done come into play: suc\u00adcess-based, mass, auto\u00admat\u00aded. They low\u00ader bar\u00adri\u00aders to entry \u2014 but they also cre\u00adate false incen\u00adtives. Mass instead of impact. Quan\u00adti\u00adty instead of con\u00adtrol. Law enforce\u00adment based on quan\u00adti\u00adty. Legal\u00adly not unprob\u00adlem\u00adat\u00adic (see Dry\u00adgala, NJW 2025, 279 ff.), social\u00adly ambiva\u00adlent. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

On the oth\u00ader hand, there are fund\u00ading mod\u00adels such as HateAid. Non-prof\u00adit, state-sup\u00adport\u00aded, polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly desired. But they also have lim\u00adits: they may be pur\u00adsu\u00ading their own goals, and they are allowed to do so. And their expo\u00adnents, such as Anna-Lena von Hoden\u00adberg, are them\u00adselves in the fire. As is well known, Ms. von Hoden\u00adberg is no longer allowed to enter the USA. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

In oth\u00ader words:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The mar\u00adket is over\u00addrawn.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The fund\u00ading is not enough.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And the state there\u00adfore remains struc\u00adtural\u00adly below its means.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

If we zoom back again \u2014 this time to 1921 \u2014 we can see where such a fail\u00adure can lead.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Lud\u00adwig Thoma was no longer a lib\u00ader\u00adal satirist. His trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion came in 1914. Despite his advanced age, he went off to fight in the First World War. He now wrote nation\u00adal\u00adis\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly, polem\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly against the cen\u00adtrist politi\u00adcian Matthias Erzberg\u00ader, among oth\u00aders. He called him \u201cErzlu\u2026\u201d (Alexan\u00adder Jungkunz, Wie Lud\u00adwig Thoma t\u00f6dlichen Hass sch\u00fcrte, nordbayern.de from 25.08.2021, retrieved on 26.01.2026). <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Erzberg\u00ader \u2014 a demo\u00adc\u00adrat, sig\u00adna\u00adto\u00adry of the armistice, some\u00adone who had tak\u00aden respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty to pre\u00advent fur\u00adther deaths.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Erzberg\u00ader was mur\u00addered on August 26, 1921.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Shot by assas\u00adsins from the Con\u00adsul orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. A few shots to the tor\u00adso. Erzberg\u00ader, who had long expect\u00aded to be exe\u00adcut\u00aded, crawled down the slope in the small town in the Black For\u00adest where he was stay\u00ading. No chance. One of the assas\u00adsins came after him, two shots to the head (source: wikipedia entry on Matthias Erzberg\u00ader, retrieved on 26.01.2026). <\/em><\/p>\n\n

The first in a series of polit\u00adi\u00adcal mur\u00adders in the Weimar Repub\u00adlic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The \u201cErzlump\u201d, as a cer\u00adtain Adolf Hitler lat\u00ader called him, was dead.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Lud\u00adwig Thoma also died on this very day. Albeit with\u00adout vio\u00adlence, from can\u00adcer. His friend Gang\u00adhofer deliv\u00adered the eulo\u00adgy. The two are buried next to each oth\u00ader in Rot\u00adtach-Egern. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

We are well aware of where this devel\u00adop\u00adment has led.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Let\u2019s jump back to the present.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

There\u2019s more than a hun\u00addred years between \u201cbed-steal\u00ader\u201d and \u201cmoron\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

But the basic ques\u00adtion remains the same:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Who pro\u00adtects the integri\u00adty of demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic office \u2014 and how?<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And that brings me to the twist in terms of pub\u00adlic pro\u00adcure\u00adment law.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

We are a pub\u00adlic pro\u00adcure\u00adment law firm.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And we are inter\u00adest\u00aded in the pur\u00adchas\u00ading side of the state. The cov\u00ader\u00adage of demand. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion pro\u00adtec\u00adtion is a ser\u00advice today.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And you can buy ser\u00advices when you need them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The state should not refer its expo\u00adnents to pri\u00advate legal action to defend them\u00adselves. At least not if the defama\u00adtion is clear\u00adly relat\u00aded to the exer\u00adcise of office and the per\u00adfor\u00admance of offi\u00adcial duties. In these cas\u00ades, the state should pro\u00adcure rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion\u00adal pro\u00adtec\u00adtion ser\u00advices insti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal\u00adly: trans\u00adpar\u00adent, bun\u00addled, in line with the award of con\u00adtracts. As a frame\u00adwork agree\u00adment. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Just like he buys com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtions con\u00adsult\u00ading.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The way he buys pub\u00adlic rela\u00adtions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

And yes \u2014 just as he buys make-up and pho\u00adto\u00adgraph\u00adic art, on which con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable sums are reg\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly spent.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

So why not also pro\u00adtect those who bear respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty for the state?<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Such pro\u00adcure\u00adment would make suc\u00adcess-based busi\u00adness mod\u00adels super\u00adflu\u00adous, pre\u00advent excess\u00ades and at the same time enable real con\u00adtrol. It would show: The state not only pro\u00adtects its build\u00adings \u2014 but also the integri\u00adty of its insti\u00adtu\u00adtions <\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

Please under\u00adstand me cor\u00adrect\u00adly. The state should not pay for every minor insult. But the state must take respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty for mas\u00adsive insults or even incite\u00adment to vio\u00adlence, which are clear\u00adly relat\u00aded to offi\u00adcial con\u00adduct. It must bear the costs of crim\u00adi\u00adnal charges and, if nec\u00ades\u00adsary, pri\u00advate pros\u00ade\u00adcu\u00adtion. This can be con\u00adtrolled won\u00adder\u00adful\u00adly with the means of pub\u00adlic pro\u00adcure\u00adment law. As the politi\u00adcian and com\u00adplainant con\u00adcerned is and remains a pri\u00advate indi\u00advid\u00adual, a mul\u00adti-part\u00adner frame\u00adwork agree\u00adment or open house pro\u00adcure\u00adment is a good option. The demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly legit\u00adimized bod\u00adies can stip\u00adu\u00adlate in the award con\u00addi\u00adtions, which can be reviewed by the courts, what is to be paid for \u2014 and what is so minor that the politi\u00adcian con\u00adcerned should please arrange it pri\u00advate\u00adly. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Per\u00adhaps that is the les\u00adson to be learned from Gang\u00adhofer, Thoma and, of course, this new address from abante Ver\u00adgabean\u00adw\u00e4lte:<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In 2026, law enforce\u00adment and rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion\u00adal pro\u00adtec\u00adtion will not begin in crim\u00adi\u00adnal pro\u00adceed\u00adings, but in pro\u00adcure\u00adment pro\u00adceed\u00adings. Thank you very much. <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Dr. Christoph Kins<\/strong>
Man\u00adag\u00ading direc\u00adtor, spe\u00adcial\u00adist lawyer for pub\u00adlic pro\u00adcure\u00adment law
abante Recht\u00adsan\u00adw\u00e4lte<\/p>\n\n

Open\u00ading speech at the inau\u00adgu\u00adra\u00adtion of the Munich site, Jan\u00adu\u00adary 29, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech at the open\u00ading of the Munich office of abante Ver\u00adgabean\u00adw\u00e4lte On 29 Jan\u00adu\u00adary 2026, Dr. Christoph Kins, Man\u00adag\u00ading Direc\u00adtor and spe\u00adcial\u00adist lawyer for pub\u00adlic pro\u00adcure\u00adment law, gave the open\u00ading speech at the open\u00ading of the Munich office of abante Ver\u00adgabean\u00adw\u00e4lte. Below is the text of the speech. Ladies and gen\u00adtle\u00admen, Dear guests, dear friends [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":21719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[285,1],"tags":[810,811],"team_kategorien":[],"lexikon_kategorie":[],"class_list":["post-23382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-unkategorisiert","tag-opening-munich","tag-rdg"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23383,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23382\/revisions\/23383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23382"},{"taxonomy":"team_kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/team_kategorien?post=23382"},{"taxonomy":"lexikon_kategorie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lexikon_kategorie?post=23382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}