An apparatus for switching and/or protection of a load connected to said apparatus, said apparatus comprising: - a power switch through which the connected load receives an electrical current, I; - a sensor component connected in series with said power switch and adapted to generate directly an electrical voltage drop corresponding to a current rise speed of the electrical current, I, flowing via the sensor component and via the power switch to said load; - a driver circuit having a low voltage side and a high voltage side galvanically separated from each other and being adapted to detect an occurring overcurrent depending on a voltage drop generated by said sensor component plus a voltage drop along the power switch and to switch off said power switch upon detection of an overcurrent to protect said power switch and said load against overcurrent, wherein the voltage drop generated by the sensor component plus the voltage drop along the power switch is applied as a sum voltage, U Σ, to an input pin (DESAT) of the high voltage side of said driver circuit, wherein the driver circuit is further configured to compare the sum voltage applied to the input pin (DESAT) of the high voltage side of the driver circuit by a comparator with a configurable threshold voltage (U TH), wherein if the configurable threshold voltage (U TH) is exceeded a binary signal travels through several logical gates of the high voltage side of the driver circuit to generate a control switch-off signal output to the gate of the power switch so that a switch-off loop used to switch-off the power switch is provided only at the high voltage side of the driver circuit, wherein said apparatus further comprises a control unit adapted to control the low voltage side of the driver circuit of the apparatus on reception of a control command such that the power switch is switched either on or off according to the received control command, wherein the driver circuit is adapted to operate independently from the control unit of said apparatus to switch off the power switch if the applied sum voltage, U Σ, exceeds the configurable threshold voltage ( U TH), wherein the control unit is adapted to control the low voltage side of the driver circuit to switch off the power switch if a current profile of the electrical current measured by a load current measurement unit of said apparatus indicates an overload of the load connected to said apparatus. - a power switch through which the connected load receives an electrical current, I; - a sensor component connected in series with said power switch and adapted to generate directly an electrical voltage drop corresponding to a current rise speed of the electrical current, I, flowing via the sensor component and via the power switch to said load; - a driver circuit having a low voltage side and a high voltage side galvanically separated from each other and being adapted to detect an occurring overcurrent depending on a voltage drop generated by said sensor component plus a voltage drop along the power switch and to switch off said power switch upon detection of an overcurrent to protect said power switch and said load against overcurrent, wherein the voltage drop generated by the sensor component plus the voltage drop along the power switch is applied as a sum voltage, U Σ, to an input pin (DESAT) of the high voltage side of said driver circuit, wherein the driver circuit is further configured to compare the sum voltage applied to the input pin (DESAT) of the high voltage side of the driver circuit by a comparator with a configurable threshold voltage (U TH), wherein if the configurable threshold voltage (U TH) is exceeded a binary signal travels through several logical gates of the high voltage side of the driver circuit to generate a control switch-off signal output to the gate of the power switch so that a switch-off loop used to switch-off the power switch is provided only at the high voltage side of the driver circuit, wherein said apparatus further comprises a control unit adapted to control the low voltage side of the driver circuit of the apparatus on reception of a control command such that the power switch is switched either on or off according to the received control command, wherein the driver circuit is adapted to operate independently from the control unit of said apparatus to switch off the power switch if the applied sum voltage, U Σ, exceeds the configurable threshold voltage ( U TH), wherein the control unit is adapted to control the low voltage side of the driver circuit to switch off the power switch if a current profile of the electrical current measured by a load current measurement unit of said apparatus indicates an overload of the load connected to said apparatus.