Buehner W, Rank A (2022)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2022
Book Volume: 23
Pages Range: 672-686
Journal Issue: 4
DOI: 10.1017/glj.2022.35
The German legal system and, in particular, German criminal procedure have been severely affected by the Corona Virus pandemic. The Konzentrationsmaxime, the maxim that the main hearing should be consolidated into as short a timeframe as possible in order to expedite proceedings, the Unmittelbarkeitsgrundsatz, the principle that witnesses must be present in person, and the offentlichkeitsgrundsatz, the principle that the oral proceedings in criminal litigation should be open to the public in order to guarantee transparency, have all been called into question. The requirement to consolidate the main hearing can no longer be guaranteed due to unavoidable interruptions in the trials in accordance with the newly established Section 10 of the Introductory Law to Germany's Criminal Procedure Code (Einfuhrungsgesetz zur Strafprozessordnung; EGStPO) which aims to minimize the risk of infection. Wide-ranging curfews have been imposed so that the general public can no longer leave their homes to attend a court hearing as a spectator. The Beschleunigungsgrundsatz, the principle of expedited criminal proceedings, is being challenged by longer periods of pre-trial detention due to trials having to be suspended in the face of the pandemic. One further obstacle is the measures implemented in order to impede infections with the disease within the period of pre-trial detention whilst other hygiene measures, such as the requirement to wear a face mask in the courtroom, could well clash with the newly established ban on facial concealment (Verhullungsverbot). In this article, the problems mentioned above are examined in more detail in order to provide an overview of the situation involving criminal proceedings in a Germany firmly in the grip of COVID-19. In addition, the situation reignites previous discussions on the further digitalization of criminal proceedings - this time as a solution for the ongoing threat of infection.
APA:
Buehner, W., & Rank, A. (2022). The Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on Criminal Procedure in Germany. German Law Journal, 23(4), 672-686. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/glj.2022.35
MLA:
Buehner, Wilhem, and Anni Rank. "The Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on Criminal Procedure in Germany." German Law Journal 23.4 (2022): 672-686.
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