Nuremberg Clause
The Nuremberg clause is a doctrine of criminal law that establishes an exception to the prohibition of retroactive effects in criminal law, i.e. the principle of " nulla poena sine lege " , for particularly punishable crimes .
Content and meaning
The Nuremberg Clause states that, despite the lack of written penal rules, an act can be punished "which at the time of its commission was punishable according to the general legal principles recognized by civilized peoples" .
In legal theory, an exception to the recognized basic judicial right of non-retroactivity is justified with Radbruch's formula , which says in short: “Extreme injustice is not a right.” It is particularly important for the treatment of crimes that have been committed in an unjust state .
Legal historical development
Nuremberg Trials
At the Nuremberg Trials , which were carried out from 1945 to 1949 against the main war criminals and other responsible persons in the German Reich during the time of National Socialism , the idea that national laws do not offer absolute protection against persecution under international criminal law was first established .
European Convention on Human Rights
In the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950, Article 7 (2) stipulated that the prohibition of retroactive effects does not exclude the punishment of an act which "at the time of its commission was punishable according to the general legal principles recognized by civilized peoples" .
Not valid in Germany
The so-called Nuremberg Clause in the European Convention on Human Rights was linked to the Control Council Act No. 10 of December 20, 1945, passed by the Allies . However, their validity was ruled out for Germany by a reservation made by the federal government in 1952 .
The reservation against the Nuremberg clause is seen in part as symptomatic of the lack of will in the first decades of the post-war period to deal with National Socialist crimes under criminal law: The Nazi legal system should not be questioned from the point of view of violating the rule of law, but should remain fundamentally valid .
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also contains a provision with the same content in Article 15.
European Charter of Fundamental Rights
In the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union , Article II-109 states that the non-retroactivity clause does not exclude “that a person may be convicted or punished for an act or omission which at the time of its commission is based on the general principles recognized by all nations was punishable. "
literature
- Thomas Darnstädt : Back to Nuremberg . In: Der Spiegel . No. 51 , 1996 ( online - 16 December 1996 ).
Individual evidence
- ^ Text of the European Convention on Human Rights
- ↑ "In accordance with Article 64 of the Convention, the Federal Republic of Germany makes the reservation that it will only apply the provision of Article 7 Paragraph 2 of the Convention within the limits of Article 103 Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany." (Federal Law Gazette 1954 II , 14)
- ↑ fritz-bauer-institut.de
- ↑ Text of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (PDF)
