The Latest Criminal Law Reformsin the General and Special Part of the German Criminal Code

Abstract

Republic of Germany, consisting of Christian Democratic Party (CDU, CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD), under leadership of Angela Merkel, has carried out numerous reforms in the area of criminal law. Not only have the penal provisions of the Special Part of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch — StGB) been supplemented and expanded, but the basic provisions of its General Part, which are relevant and applicable to all criminal offences, have also been modified. This article presents the most important reforms. Not only are the respective motives of the legislator presented, but also the reactions of criminal science and practice. The aim is to critically assess the reforms and their impact. In addition, the article gives a brief outlook on the forthcoming German legislation in the current legislative period. The article concludes that criminal law reforms in the last legislative period mainly consisted of tightening and broadening criminal law provisions reflecting “actionism” and “populism”. The German Federal Constitutional Court is expected to review the constitutionality of several provisions. The German legislator failed to recognise that tightened rules would be ineffective in practice if prosecution did not become more effective and the likelihood of detecting crimes was not increased. In future, the re-elected Grand Coalition should take greater account of the findings of criminal science. One proposal in this context would be that the planned reform of the sanctions law for companies would also strengthen the rights of defence of companies.
For citation: Wassmer M. (2019) The Latest Criminal Law Reforms in the General and Special Part of the German Criminal Code. Pravo. Zhurnal Vysshey shkoly ekonomiki, no 3, pp. 203–219 (in English) DOI: 10.17-323/2072-8166.2019.3.203.219