Violation of private secrets
(1) Whosoever unlawfully discloses a secret of another, in particular, a secret which belongs to the sphere of personal privacy or a business or trade secret, which was confided to or otherwise made known to him in his capacity as a
1. physician, dentist, veterinarian, pharmacist or member of another healthcare profession which requires state-regulated education for engaging in the profession or to use the professional title;
2. professional psychologist with a final scientific examination recognised by the State;
3. attorney, patent attorney, notary, defence counsel in statutorily regulated proceedings, certified public accountant, sworn auditor, tax consultant, tax agent, or organ or member of an organ of a law, patent law, accounting, auditing or tax consulting firm in the form of a company;
4. marriage, family, education or youth counsellor as well as addiction counsellor at a counselling agency which is recognised by a public authority or body, institution or foundation under public law;
4a. member or agent of a counselling agency recognised under section 3 and section 8 of the Act on Pregnancies in Conflict Situations;
5. a state-recognised social worker or state-recognised social education worker; or
6. member of a private health, accident or life insurance company or a private medical, tax consultant or attorney invoicing service,
shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine.
(2) Whosoever unlawfully discloses a secret of another, in particular, a secret which belongs to the sphere of personal privacy or a business or trade secret, which was confided to or otherwise made known to him in his capacity as a
1. public official;
2. person entrusted with special public service functions;
3. person who exercises duties or powers under the law on staff employment representation;
4. member of an investigative committee working for a legislative body of the Federation or a state, another committee or council which is not itself part of the legislative body, or as an assistant for such a committee or council;
5. publicly appointed expert who is formally obliged by law to conscientiously fulfil his duties, or
6. person who is formally obliged by law to conscientiously fulfil his duty of confidentiality in the course of scientific research projects,
shall incur the same penalty. Particular statements about personal or material relationships of another which have been collected for public administration purposes shall be deemed to be equivalent to a secret within the meaning of the 1st sentence above; the 1st sentence above shall not apply to the extent that such particular statements are made known to other public authorities or other agencies for public administration purposes unless the law forbids it.
(2a) Subsections (1) and (2) above shall apply mutatis mutandis when a data protection officer without authorisation discloses the secret of another within the meaning of these provisions, which was entrusted to or otherwise revealed to one of the persons named in subsections (1) or (2) above in their professional capacity and of which he has gained knowledge in the course of the fulfilment of his duties as data protection officer.
(3) Other members of a bar association shall be deemed to be equivalent to an attorney named in subsection (1) No 3 above. The persons named in subsection (1) and the 1st sentence above shall be equivalent to their professionally active assistants and those persons who work with them in training for the exercise of their profession. After the death of the person obliged to keep the secret, whosoever acquired the secret from the deceased or from his estate shall be equivalent to the persons named in subsection (1) and in the 1st and 2nd sentences above.
(4) Subsections (1) to (3) above shall also apply if the offender unlawfully discloses the secret of another person after the death of that person.
(5) If the offender acts for material gain or with the intent of enriching himself or another or of harming another the penalty shall be imprisonment not exceeding two years or a fine.