Testimony
The state of emergency is a constituent feature of German criminal law, which constitutes a reason to mitigate or cancel the sentence in the case of statements offenses .
Legal basis and meaning
The state of emergency and its legal consequences are regulated by law in Section 157 of the Criminal Code , which has the following wording:
"(1) If a witness or expert is guilty of perjury or a false, unofficial testimony , the court can mitigate the sentence at its own discretion ( Section 49, Paragraph 2) and, in the case of an unofficial testimony, refrain from punishment entirely if the The perpetrator said the untruth in order to avert the danger of a relative or of himself, of being punished or of being subjected to a custodial measure of reform and security.
(2) The court can also mitigate the punishment at its discretion ( Section 49 (2)) or refrain from punishment entirely if a person who has not yet given an oath has given false statements without oath. "
Example: A woman gives her spouse a false alibi for the time of a bank robbery. In this case, the court that would have to decide on the punishment of the woman can mitigate the punishment or waive the punishment.
