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German top court overturns double jeopardy reform

October 31, 2023

The Karlruhe-based court Constitutional Court ruled that a reform that allowed repeat indictments in case of new evidence was null and void. A complaint had been brought by a man who was charged again after an acquittal.

https://p.dw.com/p/4YEfi
German constitutional court
Germany's constitutional court has ruled that a 2021 reform law that allowed for suspects to be indicted twice for the same crime was unconstitutionalImage: Uli Deck/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court low struck down a 2021 judicial reform on Tuesday, ruling that individuals in cases of murder and war crimes cannot be tried again for the same offense.

Judges ruled that the reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure passed in December 2021 was unconstitutional, and thus null and void.

What is behind the case?

The reform was passed by the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, under Angela Merkel's chancellorship. It limited retrials to crimes such as murder, genocide, and war crimes, which are not subject to a statute of limitations.

The complaint was brought by a man who was found not guilty in 1981 for the rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in the northwestern state of Lower Saxony. The man was initially sentenced to life in prison but appealed and was acquitted at a retrial for lack of evidence.

A second trial against the suspect was initiated in 2022 after he was charged again on the basis of new DNA evidence.

What did the court say about the ruling?

Six judges at the court voted in favor of the ruling, while two voted against it.

Presiding judge Doris König said that Germany's constitution, known as the Basic Law, prohibits multiple punishments and prosecutions in its Article 103.

"This protects not only persons who have already been convicted once, but also persons who have been acquitted from renewed criminal proceedings," she said.

She said that the right not be tried again for the same crime was "absolute"  under the constitution, adding that it left "no room for maneuver even if it turns out in retrospect that the verdict was incorrect."

The court also found that the indictment violated a ban on applying the law retroactively.

sdi/rc (Reuters, dpa)

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