Hesse calls for longer deadlines in criminal law
Hesse is working with other federal states for longer periods on criminal law. “There is an urgent need for action. The burst of major criminal cases has become more likely,” Hessian Justice Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) said yesterday. According to the Criminal Procedure Code, negotiations in court proceedings must continue within a certain period of time. This one was extended in March 2020 due to the corona pandemic. However, the scheme ended on June 30.
Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP) announced that the regulation with the Corona package of measures would come into force again in the autumn. However, given the current pandemic situation, it is too late for federal states. “It would have been better to leave the regulation in force. It’s incomprehensible that it was deleted,” Poseck complained.
According to the Ministry of Justice, the Criminal Procedure Code provides for main hearings to be interrupted for up to three weeks, after ten days of hearing up to a month – and in clearly defined cases, such as illness, the deadline can be extended.