Direktiven

Direktiven is the plural of Direktive, a term used in German to denote normative instructions, instruments, or mechanisms that guide actions, decisions, or implementations. The word derives from Latin directivus and entered technical German via direct loan or translation.

In political and legal contexts, eine Direktive generally refers to an explicit instruction that aims to achieve specified results. In German-language law, the corresponding EU instrument is typically called eine Richtlinie (directive). Richtlinien set goals that member states must reach and allow national authorities to choose methods; they must be transposed into national law within a deadline and are subject to infringement procedures if not implemented.

In administrative practice, Direktiven can also denote internal orders or administrative directives issued by ministries or agencies to guide procedures, standards, or compliance requirements. They function as subordinate rules without the force of law, yet with binding effects within an organization.

In computing, preprocessor or compiler directives are labeled as Direktiven in German-language technical literature. They control compilation, inclusion of files, or conditional sections of code, for example in C and C++ with #include or #define, as well as similar constructs in other languages.

In linguistics and pragmatics, directive acts are speech acts intended to induce the addressee to perform an action, such as requests, commands, or pleas. Linguistic descriptions discuss the pragmatic force and politeness strategies behind such directives.

Summary: Direktiven cover a range of normative instructions across law, administration, computing, and language, with government usage often aligned to the EU concept of directives, called Richtlinien, rather than Direktiven.