Legal peace

In jurisprudence, legal peace refers to a state of affairs in which possible conflicts and legal disputes can no longer be settled in court and the requirements of the legal system for dispute resolution are satisfied.

The modern constitutional state claims a monopoly of force and must grant its citizens effective legal protection through the state judiciary . Procedural guarantees such as the principle of equality of arms are intended to enable both sides to achieve their legal protection goal and to prevail in the process. Ideally, the legally binding conclusion of a legal dispute actually leads to a fair balance of interests and pacification of the parties. Legal peace does not mean that all consequences of previous violations of the law have to be removed. Legal peace can also prevail if the legal community has come to terms with past violations of the law.

For example, the statute of limitations for civil law claims or the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution serve to restore legal peace. After the statute of limitations has expired, a claim can no longer be enforced or the guilt of the perpetrator can no longer be atoned for, but at the same time there is legal certainty insofar as the courts no longer deal with long-ago issues that the legal community only has a subordinate interest in clarifying , have to deal.

Another example is prescription , which eliminates a discrepancy between legal appearance and legal reality.