A method for inhibiting manual re-closing of a contact of a protective switching device as long as an electrical reset has not yet occurred, comprising: preloading a trigger mechanism into a first, preloaded state by moving a handle from an off-position to an on-position resulting in a closed contact state of the protective switching device ; tripping the trigger mechanism by a first event, in response to which the trigger mechanism transits from the first, preloaded state to a second, tripped state resulting in an open contact state of the protective switching device ; inhibiting transition of the trigger mechanism from the second, tripped state to the first, preloaded state despite moving the handle from a tripped position to the on-position as long as a second event has not occurred, wherein the first event and the second event are monitored by a plurality of sensors; in response to the occurring of the second event, electrically resetting the trigger mechanism by a controller including evaluation electronics analyzing information from the plurality of sensors, so that moving the handle from the tripped position to the on-position results in transitioning of the trigger mechanism from the second, tripped state to the first, preloaded state resulting in a re-closing of the contact of the protective switching device to achieve the closed contact state of the protective switching device , wherein said first event is related to an excess current from an overload or a short circuit or another external trigger input and the second event is related to an electrical reset signal provided by the controller indicating re-establishment of a safe condition. preloading a trigger mechanism into a first, preloaded state by moving a handle from an off-position to an on-position resulting in a closed contact state of the protective switching device ; tripping the trigger mechanism by a first event, in response to which the trigger mechanism transits from the first, preloaded state to a second, tripped state resulting in an open contact state of the protective switching device ; inhibiting transition of the trigger mechanism from the second, tripped state to the first, preloaded state despite moving the handle from a tripped position to the on-position as long as a second event has not occurred, wherein the first event and the second event are monitored by a plurality of sensors; in response to the occurring of the second event, electrically resetting the trigger mechanism by a controller including evaluation electronics analyzing information from the plurality of sensors, so that moving the handle from the tripped position to the on-position results in transitioning of the trigger mechanism from the second, tripped state to the first, preloaded state resulting in a re-closing of the contact of the protective switching device to achieve the closed contact state of the protective switching device , wherein said first event is related to an excess current from an overload or a short circuit or another external trigger input and the second event is related to an electrical reset signal provided by the controller indicating re-establishment of a safe condition. <EOS>