Law of Pre-Trial Detention (From Coercive Measures in a Socio-legal Comparison of the People's Republic of China and Germany, P 137-168, 2004, Hans-Jorg Albrecht and Chen Gungzhong, eds. -- See NCJ-210122)

• NCJ Number: 210127
• Author(s): Hans-Ullrich Paeffgen
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 32 pages
• Sale Source: Max-Planck-Institute Fur Auslandisches und Internationales Strafrecht
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper examines the law of pretrial detention in Germany, the rules governing pretrial detention in German criminal procedure law, and the need to balance effective protection to the integrity of the criminal process and protect and strengthen the rights of the individual against the powers of the state.

Abstract

Pretrial detention is seen as the harshest compulsory measure available to criminal justice before the imposition of punishment. In German criminal procedure, pretrial freedom is taken as the rule, and pretrial detention is considered an exception needing special justification. In examining the rules governing pretrial detention in German criminal procedure law, two types of arrest or detention warrants are identified: one to safeguard the integrity of investigation and trial and one to secure the execution of a sentence. In this paper, the first type of detention is examined. The paper begins by discussing the legal requirements for pretrial detention which sets out three cumulative requirements: (1) strong suspicion, (2) grounds for detention, and (3) proportionality, and concludes with a brief look at other forms of detention.