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Coercion under § 105 StGB: when pressure becomes punishable

Coercion under § 105 StGB: the means of force and dangerous threat, the lawfulness clause of para 2, aggravated coercion under § 106 and the distinction from a mere threat.

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23 June 2026 · Mag. Christopher Angerer, Rechtsanwalt

An argument escalates, someone threatens a complaint to enforce a payment, or pressure is built up in business. The accusation of coercion quickly arises. For the accused, the question is where the line runs between the permissible assertion of one’s own interests and punishable coercion. Affected persons want to know from when they can defend themselves.

This post explains, from a legal perspective, what coercion under § 105 StGB means, which means are covered, what role the lawfulness clause of § 105 para 2 plays and when aggravated coercion under § 106 applies. This is general information, not advice on an individual case.

What is your role?

Four situations, one clear next step.

Whether conduct is punishable as coercion depends on the means used and the purpose pursued. Choose your situation and you will receive the key points and the next concrete step.

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01 Question 1

What does your case involve?

Whether conduct is punishable as coercion depends on the means used and the purpose pursued. Choose your situation and you will receive the key points and the next concrete step.

All paths at a glance

Overview of all answers.

01

As the accused: get advice before questioning, clarify the means and purpose of the conduct.

Coercion under § 105 StGB requires that another person is forced, by force or by a dangerous threat, to perform an act, to tolerate something or to refrain from acting. The decisive question is often whether the means used, in relation to the purpose pursued, offends against accepted moral standards. From a legal perspective, what was actually said and done should be clarified precisely before the first questioning.

Do not make a statement on the matter before you have obtained access to the file and sought advice. Especially in business or private disputes, the line between permissible assertion of interests and punishable coercion lies in the detail.

In depth: the lawfulness clause of § 105 para 2 →
02

A threat to file a complaint: permissible or punishable is decided by the purpose pursued.

Announcing that you will file a criminal complaint or bring a lawsuit is not in itself punishable. Asserting an existing right is permitted. Coercion may exist, however, where the threat of a complaint is used to enforce something that has no substantive connection with the threatened complaint.

What matters is the clause of § 105 para 2 StGB: the act is not unlawful where the use of the threat as a means to the intended purpose does not offend against accepted moral standards. From a legal perspective, the inner connection between means and purpose is therefore decisive.

In depth: the means-ends relation and accepted moral standards →
03

As the affected person: document the means of pressure and the demand, consider a complaint.

Anyone forced by force or a dangerous threat into particular conduct may be the victim of coercion. Secure messages, recordings and witnesses that show the demand and the means of pressure used. The more precisely the sequence of events is recorded, the better the question of punishability can be assessed.

Coercion is an offence prosecuted ex officio; the public prosecutor pursues it on its own initiative. From a legal perspective, it makes sense to order the evidence before a complaint and to set out your own position clearly.

In depth: the elements of coercion →
04

Aggravated coercion under § 106: a significantly higher penalty for qualified threats.

Aggravated coercion under § 106 StGB applies, among other things, where the threat is to kill, to inflict a serious mutilation or to destroy the economic livelihood, or where the victim is placed in an agonising state or held in such a state for a prolonged period. The penalty then rises to between six months and five years.

From a legal perspective, the decisive point here is whether a qualified threat actually existed and how seriously it was meant and to be understood. This assessment should be made early and carefully.

In depth: aggravated coercion § 106 →

The elements of coercion

Under § 105 StGB, anyone who, by force or by a dangerous threat, coerces another person into performing an act, tolerating something or refraining from acting is liable to prosecution. The penalty is up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of up to 720 daily rates.

Coerced conduct. Unlike a mere threat, coercion requires that the victim is forced into particular conduct. This covers an act as well as toleration or omission.

Intent. The offender must at least seriously consider it possible and accept that the means forces the other person into the conduct. A merely thoughtless remark in the heat of an argument does not readily fulfil the offence.

Ex officio offence. Coercion is prosecuted on the authority’s own initiative. Withdrawing the complaint does not automatically end the proceedings.

The means: force and dangerous threat

Coercion is punishable only where it is committed by one of the means named in the law.

Force. This means the use of not entirely negligible physical strength to overcome actual or expected resistance. It may be holding someone, pushing them away or blocking a path.

Dangerous threat. A dangerous threat is, under § 74 para 1 no 5 StGB, the threat of an injury to body, liberty, honour, property or other protected legal interests that is capable of instilling well-founded concern in the person threatened. What matters is the capacity to do so, not whether the victim was actually placed in fear.

From a legal perspective, the precise classification of the means is often the first point of dispute, because without a suitable means there is no coercion.

The lawfulness clause of § 105 para 2

A particular feature of coercion is the clause of § 105 para 2 StGB. Under it, the act is not unlawful where the use of force or the threat as a means to the intended purpose does not offend against accepted moral standards.

Means-ends relation. It is therefore not enough that a suitable means was used. What is examined is whether the use of the means precisely to achieve the purpose pursued appears reprehensible. Anyone who pursues a legitimate concern with a means of pressure that fits it substantively generally does not act unlawfully.

Example of a threat of complaint. Anyone who threatens a complaint in order to enforce a justified demand connected with the conduct reported generally remains unpunished. Where, by contrast, the threat of a complaint is used to achieve something entirely unrelated, the means-ends relation may be immoral and therefore punishable.

From a legal perspective, the whole case often turns on this clause, because many conflicts lie in the borderline area between legitimate assertion of interests and impermissible pressure.

Aggravated coercion under § 106 StGB

Under certain conditions there is aggravated coercion under § 106 StGB, with a significantly higher penalty.

Qualified threats. These include, among others, the threat to kill, to inflict a serious mutilation or a striking disfigurement, to abduct, to commit arson, to create a danger through nuclear energy, and to destroy the economic livelihood or social standing.

Agonising state. Aggravated coercion also exists where the victim is placed in an agonising state by the act or held in such a state for a prolonged period.

Penalty. Aggravated coercion carries imprisonment of between six months and five years. Where the act results in the suicide or attempted suicide of the coerced person, the sentencing range rises to one to ten years.

Distinction from the dangerous threat

Coercion and the dangerous threat under § 107 StGB are easily confused but concern different situations.

Dangerous threat. § 107 StGB concerns the threat itself, which is intended to instil well-founded concern in the victim. It is not necessary that the victim is thereby induced to particular conduct.

Coercion. Under § 105 StGB, the coerced conduct is added to the dangerous threat or force. The victim is thus forced precisely into an act, toleration or omission.

From a legal perspective, this distinction matters because the offence and the penalty differ and in an individual case both accusations may stand side by side.

The most common mistakes in a coercion accusation. Assuming that every threat of a complaint is punishable, or conversely always permitted. As the accused, making a statement on the matter without access to the file. Failing to document the connection between the demand and the means of pressure. In all cases: the inner connection between means and purpose decides, and it should be recorded early and precisely.

Frequently asked questions

What you need to know about coercion in Austria.

Is threatening a complaint punishable? +

Not automatically. Anyone who threatens a complaint to enforce a justified and substantively connected demand generally remains unpunished. It can become punishable where the complaint is used as a means of pressure for something unrelated. What matters is the clause of § 105 para 2 StGB, under which the proportionality of means and purpose is decisive.

What penalty applies to coercion? +

Simple coercion under § 105 StGB carries up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of up to 720 daily rates. For aggravated coercion under § 106 StGB the sentencing range is six months to five years, and one to ten years where the act results in the suicide or attempted suicide of the coerced person.

What is a dangerous threat? +

A dangerous threat is, under § 74 para 1 no 5 StGB, the threat of an injury to body, liberty, honour, property or other legal interests that is capable of instilling well-founded concern in the person threatened. What is decisive is the capacity of the threat, not whether the victim actually became afraid.

When is coercion aggravated? +

Aggravated coercion under § 106 StGB exists, among other things, with a threat to kill, to inflict a serious mutilation or to destroy the economic livelihood, and where the victim is placed in an agonising state or held in such a state for a prolonged period.

What should I do first as the accused? +

Do not make any statement on the matter before you have sought legal advice and obtained access to the file. Secure the full correspondence showing the demand and the threat. Especially with coercion, the precise connection between means and purpose decides whether the conduct is punishable.

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Topics
coercionsection-105aggravated-coerciondangerous-threatforceex-officio-offence

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