Decision to act
The decision to commit a crime is a legal term of attempted criminality in German criminal law and corresponds to the intent to commit the offense .
The decision to commit a crime is the first phase in the offense stage of a criminal offense and is present when the perpetrator has made an intention to commit the offense and, if necessary, other special subjective elements of the offense (e.g. the intention to assassinate the theft according to Section 242 of the Criminal Code or greed for murder according to Section 211 StGB). The perpetrator must be determined to carry out the deed. A simple inclination to act is therefore not enough. However, there is no lack of determination when the decision to act has been made, but the execution is made dependent on the occurrence of certain conditions. The decision to act must be unconditional, therefore unconditional and final.
A factual error within the meaning of Section 16 (1) sentence 1 StGB, together with intent, also excludes the decision to commit.
example
A burglar gains access to a house. He did not think about what he would like to take with him in advance, as he wants to decide this on site. He also doesn't know whether the house is occupied at the time of the break-in. In such a case, the decision to act is to be affirmed, since the perpetrator has made the decision to steal something. Even if he found residents in the house and then stopped his break-in, this would not change the existence of an unconditional decision to act.
There would be no unconditional decision to act if the perpetrator just wanted to scout out the house.
literature
- Wolfgang Joecks (Ed.): Study Commentary StGB. 9th edition. Beck Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-60999-2 .
- Uwe Murmann: Basic course in criminal law. Beck Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-406-61586-3 .
- Johannes Wessels (greeting), Werner Beulke (editing): Criminal law general part. 41st edition. CF Müller Verlag, Heidelberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8114-9822-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfgang Joecks: Study Commentary StGB , 2011, p. 88.
- ↑ Oliver Jung: The idea of the act in a criminal attempt. In: YES . , Munich 2006, p. 230.
- ↑ Uwe Murmann, Basic Course in Criminal Law , 2011, p. 355.
- ↑ Claus Roxin : Decision to act and start of execution when trying. In: JuS , Munich 1979, p. 2.
- ↑ Johannes Wessels / Werner Beulke: Criminal Law General Part , 2011, p. 228.
- ↑ BGHSt 12, 306 , 310 f.
- ↑ Franz Streng: The error in the attempt - an error? In: ZStW , Berlin 1997, p. 862.
