German grammar lessons › Level C2 › Nouns & Articles

Legal and academic German: gemäß, zwecks, nominal chains

The nouns, prepositions and formulas of laws, official decisions and academic prose, and how to translate them into plain German.

Part of the free C2 German course. Press the speaker next to an example to hear it.

Legal and academic German pushes nominal style (Nominal and verbal style: turning one into the other) and officialese (Choosing a register: Amtsdeutsch, journalistic, academic, colloquial) to the limit. You need to read it fluently, and to write it when a form or a paper demands it.

People as nouns

Legal texts name people by their role: der Antragsteller, die Antragstellerin (applicant), der Kläger (claimant), die Beklagte (defendant in a civil case), der Angeklagte (accused), die Erziehungsberechtigten (parents or guardians), der Unterzeichnende (the undersigned). Official texts increasingly use neutral forms like die Antragstellenden or both forms together.

Die Antragstellerin hat ihren Wohnsitz in Salzburg.The applicant has her place of residence in Salzburg.

Prepositions of the register

Preposition	Case	Meaning
gemäß	dative	in accordance with (also after the noun: dem Vertrag gemäß)
laut	dative (or genitive)	according to
entsprechend	dative	in line with
zwecks	genitive	for the purpose of
mangels	genitive	for lack of
seitens	genitive	on the part of
hinsichtlich, bezüglich	genitive	regarding
kraft	genitive	by virtue of
infolge	genitive	as a result of

Der Antrag ist gemäß den geltenden Richtlinien schriftlich einzureichen.The application must be submitted in writing in accordance with the applicable guidelines.
Zwecks Prüfung Ihrer Angaben benötigen wir eine Kopie Ihres Ausweises.To verify your details, we need a copy of your ID.
Mangels ausreichender Beweise wurde der Angeklagte freigesprochen.For lack of sufficient evidence, the accused was acquitted.
Seitens der Verwaltung wurden keine Einwände erhoben.No objections were raised by the administration.

Formulas

sein + zu + infinitive: an obligation. Der Antrag ist einzureichen means "must be submitted".
in Kraft treten, außer Kraft setzen: come into force, repeal.
Wer …, wird …: the general rule of criminal law, "anyone who … shall be …".
Es sei darauf hingewiesen, dass …: Konjunktiv I as a formal instruction to the reader.
die vorliegende Arbeit: this paper.

Das Gesetz tritt am Tag nach seiner Verkündung in Kraft.The law comes into force on the day after its promulgation.
Wer fremdes Eigentum beschädigt, wird mit einer Geldstrafe bestraft.Anyone who damages another person's property is punished with a fine.
Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die Sprachpolitik der Schweiz.This paper examines language policy in Switzerland.
Es sei darauf hingewiesen, dass die Stichprobe nicht repräsentativ ist.It should be pointed out that the sample is not representative.

Abbreviations

Abbreviation	Full form	Meaning
gem.	gemäß	in accordance with
ggf.	gegebenenfalls	if applicable
i. d. R.	in der Regel	as a rule
bzw.	beziehungsweise	or, respectively
vgl.	vergleiche	compare, cf.
§	Paragraf	section of a law

When you must explain a legal letter to someone, unpack it: Zwecks Prüfung benötigen wir … becomes Damit wir das prüfen können, brauchen wir …

Common mistakes

~~gemäß des Vertrags~~: gemäß takes the dative, gemäß dem Vertrag.
Reading ist einzureichen as "is submitted". It means "must be submitted".
~~der Antragsteller~~ for a named woman: die Antragstellerin.
Writing an e-mail to a friend with zwecks and bezüglich. It sounds like a tax office.
Confusing seitens (on the part of) with seitlich (at the side).

Practice

Gemäß _____ Vertrag steht Ihnen eine Rückerstattung zu.
Options: dem · des · den
Show the answer
dem — Gemäß takes the dative. Gemäß des Vertrags is a common error.
Die Unterlagen sind bis Ende Mai _____ (einreichen).
The documents must be submitted by the end of May.
Show the answer
einzureichen — Sein + zu + infinitive; with a separable verb, zu goes inside: einzureichen.
„Mangels Interesse wurde der Kurs gestrichen.“ What does it mean?
Options: The course was cancelled for lack of interest. · The course was cancelled despite great interest. · Interest in the course was cancelled.
Show the answer
The course was cancelled for lack of interest. — Mangels + genitive: for lack of.
Die neue Regelung tritt am ersten Januar in _____.
The new rule comes into force on the first of January.
Show the answer
Kraft — In Kraft treten: to come into force.

In the app, this lesson is taught one idea at a time with the examples read aloud, followed by questions that explain the rule when you get one wrong. It then comes back for review on later days, until you've answered it correctly on three separate days.

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