NCJ Number
146329
Journal
European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 104-125
Date Published
1993
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This is an examination of the scope of criminal law and the function of the judiciary in the unified Germany.
Abstract
This article contains a brief outline of some post-unification criminal law issues. There is a discussion of the international and constitutional issues faced by the courts in establishing the criminal responsibility of German Democratic Republic (GDR) border soldiers accused of killing East Germans attempting to cross illegally into the West, particularly at the Berlin Wall. The author looks at problems of individual attribution and personal culpability, and the special problems of trying top-level officials. She questions the reasonableness of sentencing in specific cases and raises the issue of appropriate sanctions in human rights cases in general. At the conclusion of the article, she sets forth perspectives on the legitimacy of ex post facto criminal justice and on the problems of state prosecution of human rights cases. The major sections of the article include: (1) (Must We) Respect Possible Impunity Grounds Provided By GDR Law? (2) Ex Post Facto Prohibition; (3) Problems of (International) "Grey Areas" Concerning the Right to the Protection of Life and the Right to Leave; (4) Criminal Sanctions: To What Avail? Footnotes, list of German abbreviations