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Titelbild: Emergency or better yet, the annoying topic of needing to use the toilet.

Emergency or better yet, the annoying topic of needing to use the toilet.

The stubborn theme is that one must always be allowed to use the toilet at any time so that a stranger can relieve themselves.

Articles are translated automatically from German and can be corrected by the editor. Read the German blog

A man must go to the toilet and get his door slammed in his face

A stubborn topic persists: that one must be allowed to use the toilet at any time, so a stranger can relieve himself.

But is this really true?

Currently, among us, it is not an urgent issue for professional drivers as much as our loading and delivery stations are.

We often refuse to let them go or simply install Dixi toilets.

Toilet Paper Law

Some claim there is a law regarding toilet paper use.

It is alleged that one must be allowed to use the toilet at any time, if they need to. No one can prove or even try to prove this.

So I searched for myself and what did I find?

Nothing!

No, really not. At least nothing that could support this thesis. There is indeed a paragraph in the Criminal Code from which one might derive some obligation to use someone else’s toilet in case of need, but legally speaking, it does not hold up well.

§ 323c Refusal of Assistance; Hindrance of Assistants

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(1) Wer bei Unglücksfällen oder gemeiner Gefahr oder Not nicht Hilfe leistet, obwohl dies erforderlich und ihm den Umständen nach zuzumuten,
insbesondere ohne erhebliche eigene Gefahr und ohne Verletzung anderer wichtiger Pflichten möglich ist, wird mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu einem Jahr oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft.

(2) Ebenso wird bestraft, wer in diesen Situationen eine Person behindert, die einem Dritten Hilfe leistet oder leisten will.

Legally speaking, the act of relieving oneself is not considered an emergency. Therefore, one is not obligated to let someone else use their toilet.

Although every company is obliged to provide separate facilities for its employees, we as suppliers/deliverers are not employees of the companies and thus do not have any right to use the toilets.

But it is still a bodily injury if I am not allowed to use the toilet

Hmm… Yes, under certain circumstances can it constitute a bodily injury. For example, when one deliberately prevents an employee or student from using the toilet to relieve themselves. Then it could be considered a bodily injury under § 223 StGB . However, this is a case-by-case determination.

In addition to bodily injury, other criminal provisions such as coercion [§ 240 StGB]https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__240.html or violation of duty of care may be relevant, especially in the context of schools, care, or nursing homes.

In Conclusion

Apart from human dignity, but in case of need, there is no right to use the toilet of another if they do not want to. The whole thing is called house law.