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Bavarian Edict on "the Establishment of a Gendarmerie" (October 11, 1812)

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Art. 177. In peacetime, the gendarmerie can perform duties together with the military, if the latter is requisitioned when the gendarmerie is inadequate to preserve the public order. [ . . . ]

XVII. Special duties and powers of the gendarmerie

Art. 190. No traveler, of whatever estate he might be, may refuse to present his passport to the gendarmerie, while the gendarmerie is obligated to keep watch on propriety at all times, and must be identifiable, when carrying out these things, by its complete uniform.

Art. 191. The gendarmerie is entitled to visit taverns and guesthouses, as well as other buildings open to the public, at any hour of the day, up to the time when they must be closed in accordance with public regulations, in order to find there those persons who are publicly identified as criminals, or whose apprehension the relevant authorities have ordered.

Art. 192. The innkeepers and hosts are obligated, upon request, to present to the officers and brigade commanders the list of the foreigners under their roof.

Art. 193. At nighttime, the gendarmerie may force its way into a house only if its presence is necessary to protect the owner against the danger of fire or water, to pursue a robber or murder who has entered, or if it is asked to do so by the residents of the house themselves.

Art. 194. By contrast, during daytime the gendarmerie may demand entry into the house of every private person, if a written order by the police or the presence of an official himself give it the authority to do so.

Art. 195. If it does not have such an order, and if it believes that a fugitive criminal is in the house, it is authorized to guard said house until the report has been made to the police authorities and it has given the order to search the house.

Art. 196. If a gendarme, be he officer, subaltern officer, or common troop, is insulted or threatened by word or deed in the exercise of his duties, the laws that come into play in this case for the military are applicable, and the officer in charge is authorized to have the guilty arrested, whatever their estate may be, and to see to their punishment in accordance with the laws.

Art. 197. If the gendarmerie is physically impeded in the exercise of its duties, and is attacked, and the leader of the same has called for aid in a loud voice, everyone who has heard the call is obligated to lend him a helping hand to fend off the attack that was dared against him and to put him in a position to carry out his charges.

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