| Creator: | Harald Vock |
| Based On: | Law & Order |
| Starring: | List of characters |
| Country: | Germany |
| Language: | German |
| Num Seasons: | 16 |
| Num Episodes: | 193 |
| Location: | Berlin |
| Runtime: | 45 minutes |
| Channel: | RTL |
Im Namen des Gesetzes (English: in the name of the law) is a German television series.It follows the work of Berlin based criminal police officers and public prosecutors.
The series is based on the long-running U.S. television series Law & Order and uses a similar narrated intro and scene change titles.
The police officers and prosecutors act in the same way the detectives and district attorneys in Law & Order do, although they actually interact different in Germany.Especially the procedures in court are completely different as it is mainly the judge who questions the defendants and witnesses.
Much like Law & Order, every episode starts with a narrated intro.
Die folgende Geschichte beruht auf Tatsachen. Sie schildert die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft bei der Bekämpfung von Straftaten.Die Staatsanwaltschaft beauftragt die Polizei mit der Aufklärung der Straftaten und klagt die Täter vor Gericht an. Polizei und Staatsanwaltschaft handeln im Namen des Gesetzes.
In English:
The following story is based on actual events. It tells of the co-operation between the criminal police and the prosecutor's office when combating criminality.The prosecutor's office orders the police to solve crimes and charges the offenders in court. Police officers and prosecutors act in the name of the law.
The series follows two officers of the criminal police: one senior detective (German: Kriminalhauptkommissar) and one junior detective (German: Kriminaloberkommissar or Kriminalkommissar|links=no) as well as a senior and a junior prosecutor (German: Oberstaatsanwalt and Staatsanwalt|links=no).A medical examiner (German: Rechtsmediziner or Gerichtsmediziner|links=no) is also frequently featured.
In contrast to most other police procedurals in German television, the audience learns nothing personal about any of the characters.Neither do they express personal feelings or emotions as it is frequently shown in Law & Order.
While the senior detective remained the same over the course of the series, the junior one changed multiple times.The prosecutors stayed the same for the first 10 years but afterwards, they changed multiple times as well.
| Character name | Portrayed by | Position | English translation | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law (detectives, medical examiners & forensic scientists) | |||||
| Stefan Kehler | Wolfgang Bathke | Kriminalhauptkommissar | Principal Detective | 1994-2008 | |
| Mark Eschenbach | Matthias Bullach | Kriminaloberkommissar | Senior Detective | 1994–1996 | |
| Peter Wolniak | Uwe Fellensiek | Kriminalkommissar | Detective | 1996-1998 | |
| Ralf Bongartz | Max Gertsch | Kriminalkommissar | Detective | 1998-2000 | |
| Axel Bonhoff | Wolfgang Krewe | Kriminalkommissar | Detective | 2000-2008 | |
| Dr. Duhler | Klaus Schindler | Gerichtsmediziner | Medical Examiner | 1998-2008 | |
| Svenja Björson | Li Hagman | Kriminaltechnikerin | Forensic Scientist | 2005-2008 | |
| Order (prosecutors, judges and advocates) | |||||
| Dr. Gerhard Lotze | Oberstaatsanwalt | Senior Prosecutor | 1994-2004 | ||
| Dr. Steiner | Wolf-Dietrich Berg | Oberstaatsanwalt | Senior Prosecutor | 1998 | |
| Dr. Max Brunner | Michael Fitz | Oberstaatsanwalt | Senior Prosecutor | 2004-2005 | |
| Dr. Tobias Kampen | Axel Pape | Oberstaatsanwalt | Senior Prosecutor | 2005-2008 | |
| Karin Kerstin | Magdalena Ritter | Staatsanwältin | Prosecutor | 1994 | |
| Charlotte Glaser | Britta Schmeling | Staatsanwältin | Prosecutor | 1994-2005 | |
| Susanne Clausen | Brigitte Beyeler | Staatsanwältin | Prosecutor | 1999-2002 | |
| Lisa Sturm | Mariella Ahrens | Staatsanwältin | Prosecutor | 2005-2008 | |
| Eva Hardenberg | Staatsanwältin | Prosecutor | 2008 | ||
| Annekathrin Bürger | Vorsitzende Richterin | Presiding Judge | 1998-2004 | ||
| Walter Tschernich | Vorsitzender Richter | Presiding Judge | 1998-2004 | ||
| Bodo Wolf | Vorsitzender Richter | Presiding Judge | 1998-2007 | ||
| Hans Peter Hallwachs | Vorsitzender Richter | Presiding Judge | 2000-2008 | ||
| Norbert Ghafouri | Vorsitzender Richter | Presiding Judge | 2002-2008 | ||
| Heidrun Gärtner | Richterin | Judge | 2003-2008 | ||
| Gotthardy | Angela Hobrig | Haftrichterin | Custodial Judge | 2000-2002 | |
| Siegfrid Rasch | Rechtsanwalt | Advocate | 2000-2007 | ||