Question 139 of 300 · Law and the Rule of Law

Question 139: When does a court trial take place in Germany? When someone …

Official question from the BAMF catalog used for the Einbürgerungstest (German citizenship test) and the Leben in Deutschland test. Topic: Law and the Rule of Law.

The question as it appears on the exam

Wann kommt es in Deutschland zu einem Prozess vor Gericht? Wenn jemand …

The Einbürgerungstest is written and sat in German only, with no dictionary allowed. Use the English below to understand the question, but learn to recognise the German wording above — that is what you will see on the day.

Diese Frage auf Deutsch →

Answer options

Azu einer anderen Religion übertritt.converts to another religion.
Beine Straftat begangen hat und angeklagt wird.has committed a criminal offence and is charged.Correct
Ceine andere Meinung als die der Regierung vertritt.holds a different opinion than the government.
Dsein Auto falsch geparkt hat und es abgeschleppt wird.parked their car incorrectly and it is towed.

Correct answer

B — eine Straftat begangen hat und angeklagt wird.

has committed a criminal offence and is charged.

Why this is the answer

This is about the Rechtsstaat — government bound by law. The core idea: not only citizens have to obey the law, the state does too. Courts are independent, nobody may enforce their own rights by force, and anyone can sue over a government decision. The Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) in Karlsruhe decides whether a law is compatible with the constitution. Any option in which the state stands above the law, or in which courts write laws instead of applying them, is wrong.

Key exam terms in this question

These exam terms appear in the question or in the answer options. Once you know them, you can still spot the right answer when the wording changes.

das Gericht — court
Das Gericht entscheidet über Streitigkeiten.
die Straftat — criminal offence
Diebstahl ist eine Straftat.
die Regierung — government
Die Regierung führt das Land.

All exam vocabulary with translations →

How this question fits into the exam

On exam day you answer 33 questions in 60 minutes: 30 from the general catalog of 300 questions — this question is one of them — and 3 about your federal state. You pass with 17 correct answers. Aiming for exactly 17 leaves no margin for nerves, so take timed mock exams until 33 out of 33 feels routine.

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