Judicial assistance
In most federal states, judicial assistance is one of the social services of the judiciary .
tasks
The main area of activity of judicial assistance is the mediation and supervision of non-profit work for the repayment of fines and in the event of the termination of proceedings according to § 153a StPO. In addition, the judicial assistance is the investigative body of the public prosecutor's office. In criminal proceedings, it determines the personal circumstances of the accused or the convicted person (Section 160 (3) StPO). This is important when deciding on pre-trial detention, suspended sentences or pardons. The investigation can also extend to witnesses and victims of the crime. Often one of the tasks of judicial assistance is the execution of a victim-offender settlement .
Judicial assistance is only responsible for people who have been convicted under adult criminal law.
Scope of investigative activity
The judicial assistance will only act as an investigator if it has received an order from the public prosecutor to do so . She does not investigate the allegation. Only the personal circumstances of the test person should be determined. In addition to living and working conditions, these can also be social relationships and problem areas that are important for criminal proceedings. The accused has the right to refuse to provide information. The right of relatives to refuse to testify also applies accordingly (Section 52 StPO). The judicial assistance summarizes the result of the investigation in an investigation report, which is forwarded to the public prosecutor's office.
organization
In the past, judicial assistance was part of the public prosecutor's office. In the course of the restructuring of the social services in the judiciary, probation assistance, judicial assistance and management supervision were merged into one organization in most federal states. For this reason, court assistants often also perform probation and conduct supervision tasks.
A distinction must be made between judicial assistance and youth judicial assistance (JGH). This is located at the youth welfare office and organizationally belongs to the municipality. It is only responsible for people who have been convicted under youth criminal law.
education
A degree in social work and state recognition is required to work in judicial assistance. Court assistants often have additional training in conflict resolution for their work in a perpetrator-victim settlement.
