Manslaughter (Switzerland)

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In Swiss criminal law, manslaughter is a special form of willful homicide , which is associated with a lower threatened penalty.

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The offense and the legal consequences of manslaughter are set out in Article 113 of the Criminal Code (StGB):

"Manslaughter

If the perpetrator acts in a violent emotional movement, which is excusable according to the circumstances, or under great emotional stress, the penalty is imprisonment from one year to ten years."

Systematics and comparative law

In the Criminal Code, Art. 113 follows the murder set out in Art. 112 .

The offense of manslaughter describes a special type of willful killing and thus differs from the definition of manslaughter in German law . This does not describe the normal case ( basic offense ) of killing with intent, so to speak , but a certain form of killing with intent, which is not quite so punishable ( privileging ). In this respect, Swiss manslaughter is more similar to Austrian manslaughter .

In addition to the "violent emotional movement that can be excused according to the circumstances" (affect), the "great emotional burden" is also a variant of manslaughter . The manslaughter in the law of Switzerland therefore corresponds roughly to the "less serious case of manslaughter" according to § 213 of the German Criminal Code (see under Manslaughter (Germany) ).

In contrast to Austria, under Swiss law, “ intentional homicide ” is the basic offense of homicides and not murder according to Art. 111 StGB . Accordingly, manslaughter is a less severe form ( privilege ) of intentional homicide , while murder within the meaning of Art. 112 StGB represents the more severe form ( qualification ) of intentional homicide .

In the three-part system (see: general article on homicides ), Swiss law on intentional homicides is similar to the legal situation in Germany. This is not surprising, since the Swiss regulation served as a model for the German regulation of homicides until 1941 (see the legal history of modern times in the article on homicides ).