Editing Double jeopardy (section)

=== Germany ===

The [[Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany|Basic Law]] (''Grundgesetz'') for the Federal Republic of Germany protects against double jeopardy if a final verdict is pronounced. A verdict is final if nobody appeals against it.

{{blockquote|Nobody shall be punished multiple times for the same crime on the basis of general criminal law.|Art. 103 (3) GG<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/gg/gesamt.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040414231131/http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bundesrecht/gg/gesamt.pdf |archive-date=2004-04-14 |url-status=live|title=Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland|trans-title=Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://germanlawjournal.com/pdfs/Vol09No12/PDF_Vol_09_No_12_2179-2222_Articles_Currie%202.pdf |author=Currie, David |title=Lochner Abroad: Substantive Due Process and Equal Protection in the Federal Republic of Germany |volume=9 |number=12 |journal=German Law Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425232851/http://germanlawjournal.com/pdfs/Vol09No12/PDF_Vol_09_No_12_2179-2222_Articles_Currie%202.pdf |archive-date=25 April 2012 }}</ref>}}

However, each trial party can appeal against a verdict in the first instance. The prosecution or the defendants can appeal against a judgement if they disagree with it. In this case, the trial starts again in the second instance, the court of appeal (''Berufungsgericht''), which reconsiders the facts and reasons and delivers a final judgement.

If one of the parties disagrees with the second instance's judgement, they can appeal it only for formal judicial reasons. The case will be checked in the third instance (''Revisionsgericht'') to see whether all laws were correctly applied.

The rule applies to the whole "historical event, which is usually considered a single historical course of actions the separation of which would seem unnatural". This is true even if new facts come to light that indicate other crimes.

The Penal Procedural Code (''Strafprozessordnung'') permits a retrial (''Wiederaufnahmeverfahren''), if it is in favour of the defendant or if the following events have happened:

{{blockquote|A retrial not in favour of the defendant is permissible after a final judgement,

# if a document that was considered authentic during the trial was actually not authentic or forged,
# if a witness or authorised expert wilfully or negligently made a wrong deposition or wilfully gave a wrong simple testimony,
# if a professional or lay judge, who made the decision, had committed a crime by violating his or her duties as a judge in the case
# if an acquitted defendant makes a credible confession in court or out of court.|§ 362 StPO}}

In the case of an order of [[summary punishment]], which can be issued by the court without a trial for lesser misdemeanours, there is a further exception:

{{blockquote|A retrial not in favour of the defendant is also permissible if the defendant has been convicted in a final order of summary punishment and new facts or evidence have been brought forward, which establish grounds for a conviction of a felony by themselves or in combination with earlier evidence.|§ 373a StPO}}

In Germany, a felony is defined by § 12 (1) StGB as a crime that has a minimum of one year of imprisonment.