Circumstantial trial

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A circumstantial trial is a process in which the court relies solely on evidence to make its decision .

The Federal Court of Justice describes the requirements for judicial conviction formation in civil proceedings according to § 286 ZPO on the basis of circumstantial evidence in its Anastasia decision : “The main part of circumstantial evidence is therefore not the actual indicative fact, but the subsequent thought process. By virtue of which the existence of the legally relevant further fact is concluded. "

In terms of criminal procedure, there are no special features for such a situation. There is a normal taking of evidence in which other admissible evidence is introduced into the process. On this basis, the court can come to a conclusion about the guilt of the accused according to § 261 StPO .

If there are several indications of evidence, it is not sufficient to deal with them individually; what is required is an overall assessment. Even if none of the respective circumstantial facts alone is sufficient to prove the culprit of the accused, there is the possibility that they can convey the necessary conviction to the court in their entirety. According to this, a conviction for a murder without a corpse is also possible.

If the conviction of the court is based on a large number of circumstantial evidence, it is urgently advisable, in the interests of the comprehensibility of the judgment, not to deal with these circumstantial evidence in the findings, but exclusively in the context of the assessment of evidence ( Section 267 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

Web links

Wiktionary: circumstantial process  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ What is a circumstantial trial? Der Spiegel , March 15, 2000.
  2. ^ BGH, judgment of February 17, 1970 - III ZR 139/67 = BGHZ 53, 245.
  3. ↑ Martin Rath: 40 Years Textbook Case "Anastasia:" The Russian Princess Who Wasn't Legal Tribune Online , September 12, 2010.
  4. ↑ BGH, judgment of November 25, 1982 - 4 StR 564/82 para. 5 mwN
  5. ↑ Murder without a corpse: BGH confirms judgment against husband Stuttgarter Nachrichten , January 19, 2017.
  6. ↑ BGH, decision of July 25, 2017 - 3 StR 111/17
  7. ↑ criminal conviction - and the presentation of evidence rechtslupe.de, October 16, 2017th