Schuldhaftige

Schuldhaftige is a German term tied to the notion of culpability. In everyday language, the base adjective schuldhaft means “culpable” or “at fault,” used to describe acts or conduct, as in schuldhaftes Verhalten (culpable conduct) or eine schuldhafte Handlung (a culpable action). The form schuldhaftige is rare and primarily found in formal, legal, or philosophical writing, where it can function as a nominalized or stylized reference to a person who bears fault. In standard modern usage, common alternatives for referring to a person who is at fault are der Schuldige (the guilty party) or der Schuldtragende, with schuldhaft often reserved for describing actions rather than people.

In legal contexts, fault is central to liability. Phrases such as schuldhaft gehandelt or schuldhaft verursacht indicate acts for which a party bears responsibility due to fault (Verschulden). The noun phrase die schuldhafte Handlung describes a specific culpable act. While schuldhaftige can appear as a nominalized or archaic-sounding form to denote a culpable person, contemporary legal language typically favors der Schuldige or similar constructions, rather than the less common schuldhaftige.

Etymology and related terms: schuldhaft is built from schuld (guilt, fault) plus the suffix -haft, producing a range of meanings from “full of guilt” to “guilty.” Related concepts include Verschulden (fault or culpable conduct) and schuldlos (without fault). See also Schuld, Verschulden, Haftung, Rechtsphilosophie for broader context.