Supplementary charges
The supplementary indictment is an instrument of German criminal procedural law . It is regulated by law in § 266 StPO .
By filing the supplementary indictment, the proceedings are extended to other criminal offenses committed by the defendant. Further criminal offenses are such life facts that are not included in the opening decision. On the other hand, it is not a case of supplementary indictment if the same facts are to be judged on the basis of a different legal or factual consideration; all that is required for this is a previous reference to the change in the legal aspect, § 265 StPO.
The public prosecutor's office will raise the additional charge. However, in order for them to become the subject of the proceedings, the court must expressly involve them in the proceedings by decision . In addition, the defendant must agree. The defendant then has the right to request an interruption of the proceedings, which the court must point out to him. However, this right finds its limit in the case of a willful application or if the sole aim of the application is to delay the procedure.
In Austrian law there is a similar scheme introduced in § 263 Code of Criminal Procedure is being held. The request for an extension of the charge can be made by the public prosecutor or the private prosecutor , and in the case of an official offense also by the victim. The accused's consent is required if the offense has more severe penalties than the one already negotiated. If the extension of the indictment is rejected, the prosecutor can pursue the crime separately. An extension of the charges before the main hearing, however, is not possible in this sense - instead, according to Section 227 (2) StPO, the original charge must be withdrawn and a new one introduced.
