Criminal chamber
As Trial Chambers is known in the court of appeal operating small and competent in the first instance large chambers of the regional courts in criminal proceedings .
Staffing
Small Trial Chambers with a professional judge and two lay judges , basically occupied large Trial Chambers with three professional judges and two lay judges. If the chamber is not active as a jury , it can decide in the opening decision (see interim proceedings ) that only two professional judges and two lay judges will act in the main hearing , which is the normal case ( Section 76 (2 ) GVG ).
Jurisdiction
The small criminal chambers are responsible according to § 76 paragraph 1 GVG for appeals against judgments of the criminal judge or the lay judge's court (both at the district court). The Great Youth Chamber is responsible for appeals against judgments of a youth lay judge .
The large criminal chambers are primarily responsible for crimes and offenses that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the criminal judge, the lay judge's court and the higher regional court or that are indicted by the public prosecutor at the regional court because of their particular importance . The Circuit Court is responsible for serious crimes directed against life, that is murder , manslaughter and successful qualified intent offenses with death .
Furthermore, commercial criminal chambers , a state security chamber ( § 74a GVG ) (if a higher regional court is located in the district of the regional court) and the youth chambers ( § 33b JGG ), which are active in youth criminal matters and youth protection matters, are set up as special chambers .
