Criminal lawsuit consumption
The consumption of criminal action is one of the essential (negative) process prerequisites in criminal proceedings. Basically, it means that no one may be tried several times for an act. This applies to both the conviction and the acquittal. Further terms for the consumption of criminal actions are: material legal force, prohibition of double punishment and ne bis in idem.
According to the Latin legal principle “ ne bis in idem ”, German criminal law prohibits double punishment for the same procedural act , which results from Art. 103 III GG.
meaning
The consumption of criminal actions is of major importance in determining the extent of the legal force of a judgment. The legal force of the judgment relates to the procedural act as the subject of the process that was judged. Once a judgment has become final, a renewed indictment of the perpetrator for the same act stands in the way of the consumption of the criminal charges as a major obstacle to the process .
Examples
If after the indictment is brought by the court or public prosecutor's office in accordance with Section 153 (2) StPO, there is a limited number of criminal charges. This means that the act may no longer be prosecuted as a misdemeanor (minimum penalty of less than one year), but it can be punished as a crime (minimum penalty of one year) if there are indications of this in retrospect.
The legally binding penalty order has the same criminal action consuming effect as a legally binding judgment.
Negative example (highest court case law)
If the police find narcotics in the vehicle during a traffic control and the driver's drug test is positive, there is a violation of both the Narcotics Act and Section 316 of the Criminal Code or the Road Traffic Act ( Section 24a ). If the public prosecutor divides the two proceedings and the perpetrator is convicted of one offense, no criminal action will be used for the other offense.
Positive example (according to prevailing opinion )
A is observed firing several shots in the forest. When caught, he explains that he aimed at a deer but did not hit it. He is sentenced to a moderately high fine by the district court for poaching ( Section 292 ). After the judgment has become final, the half-decayed corpse of the husband of his lover, who was actually shot by A, is found. Here the criminal action has been consumed, A can no longer be prosecuted because of the homicide.
Individual evidence
- ^ People / English: Basic course StPO . Ed .: CHBECK. S. 294 .
- ↑ a b Duden law AZ. Technical lexicon for studies, training and work. 3rd edition Berlin: Bibliographisches Institut 2015. [1]
- ↑ BVerfG, decision of the 1st Chamber of the Second Senate of March 16, 2006 - 2 BvR 111/06 -, Rn. 1-18, ECLI: DE: BVerfG: 2006: rk20060316.2bvr011106
- ↑ Roxin, Criminal Procedure Law, p. 450 mwN, quoted from Thomas Grotzeck, procedural concept of offense and criminal action consumption ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
