Concentration principle (main negotiation)
The concentration principle (a process maxim ) describes the endeavor to conduct a court hearing as concentrated as possible, i.e. without too many or too long interruptions.
For the main criminal hearing , this is regulated in ( § 229 StPO ). According to this provision, a main hearing may only be interrupted for up to three weeks. If the main hearing took place on at least ten days, an interruption of up to one month is permitted.
However, if the main hearing has already been held on at least ten main hearing days and it cannot be continued due to illness of the defendant or a judge, the interruption period is suspended for a maximum of six weeks; in this case, however, the main hearing must be continued no later than ten days after the suspension has ended.
A violation of the deadlines specified in Section 229 of the Code of Criminal Procedure represents a relative reason for a review . The auditor can therefore assert a procedural error in this regard in the auditing body, whereby, in accordance with Section 337 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, he must demonstrate that the judgment is based on the procedural error. According to the established case law of the Federal Court of Justice , however, resting can only be excluded in exceptional cases.
