Enforcement of fines

Germany

Germany - Cooperation with ICC 2002 EN

Part 4 Mutual Assistance through the Execution of Decisions and Orders of the Court

§ 43 Enforcement of Monetary Fines
(relating to Article 77 para. 2(a), Article 109 para. 1 of the Rome Statute)

(1) Monetary fines shall be enforced when:
1. requested by the Court upon presentation of a complete final and enforceable
court ruling on guilt and punishment, and
2. the request states up to which amount the monetary fine is to be enforced domestically insofar as the Court has requested enforcement of monetary fines from more than one state.
To the extent that the monetary fine to be enforced is stated in a currency other than Euro, the exchange rate officially set on the day of receipt of the request shall be used for the conversion.

(2) The Court-Fee Collection Ordinance (Justizbeitreibungsordnung) applies to the enforcement of monetary fines as far as this law does not otherwise provide.

(3) The fine is due upon receipt of the request. For interpretation of the rulings on guilt or sentencing, the calculation of the imposed penalty, objections to the permissibility of the enforcement of the penalty, or when under German law the prerequisites of § 459a of the Criminal Procedure Code would be met, a decision of the Court shall be obtained. The progress of the enforcement shall not be inhibited hereby; the office responsible pursuant to § 46 para. 2 may, however, postpone or suspend the enforcement. A continuation of enforcement at a later point in time shall be ensured by appropriate measures; to this end, a search of the convicted person, his living quarters and possessions, as well as the confiscation of objects, is allowed.

(4) § 459b and 459c para. 2 and 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code apply mutatis mutandis. The result of the enforcement shall be reported to the Court and the fine collected shall be transferred to it.

(5) To the extent the Court, because of the uncollectability of a monetary fine, lengthens the imposed detention based upon a criminal act in Article 5 of the Rome Statute or, because of the uncollectability of an imposed monetary fine based upon a criminal act as set forth in Article 70 para. 1 of the Rome Statute, imposes a prison sentence, §§ 41 and 42 apply to the enforcement of the prison sentence.

Part 4 Mutual Assistance through the Execution of Decisions and Orders of the Court

§ 46 Jurisdiction, Appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, Legal Assistance

(2) Jurisdiction for the enforcement of monetary fines per § 43 and Restitution Orders per § 45 lies with the public prosecution office attached to the Higher Regional Court in whose district the convicted person has his legal residence or, in the absence thereof, where he habitually resides. If the legal or habitual residence cannot be determined, jurisdiction lies with the public prosecution office attached to the Higher Regional Court in whose district objects belonging to the convicted person are situated. If objects are situated in the districts of different Higher Regional Courts, jurisdiction is determined based upon which public prosecution office was first involved in the matter. For as long as jurisdiction under sentences 1-3 cannot be determined, jurisdiction is determined by the seat of the federal government. The necessary judicial orders shall be made by the Higher Regional Court. Rulings by the Higher Regional Court are non-appealable.

Germany - Criminal Code 1871 (2013) EN

GENERAL PART

CHAPTER THREE
SANCTIONS

FIRST TITLE
PENALTIES
—Fine—

Section 40
Day fine units

(1) A fine shall be imposed in daily units. The minimum fine shall consist of five and, unless the law provides otherwise, the maximum shall consist of three hundred and sixty full daily units.
(2) The court shall determine the amount of the daily unit taking into consideration the personal and financial circumstances of the offender. In doing so, it shall typically base its calculation on the actual average one-day net income of the offender or the average income he could achieve in one day. A daily unit shall not be set at less than one and not at more than thirty thousand euros.
(3) The income of the offender, his assets and other relevant assessment factors may be estimated when setting the amount of a daily unit.
(4) The number and amount of the daily units shall be indicated in the decision.

Section 41
Fines in addition to imprisonment

If the offender through the commission of the offence enriched or tried to enrich himself, a fine which otherwise would not have been provided for or only in the alternative may be imposed in addition to imprisonment if this appears appropriate taking into consideration the personal and financial circumstances of the offender. This does not apply if the court imposes an order pursuant to section 43a.

Section 42
Allowing time for payment; instalments

If a convicted offender, due to his personal or financial circumstances, cannot be expected to pay the full fine immediately, the court shall allow a certain time for payment or allow payment in specified instalments. The court may also order that the privilege of paying the fine in fixed instalments will be revoked if the convicted offender fails to pay an instalment in time. The court shall also allow for such conditions of payment if without them the restitution by the offender of any damage caused by the offence were to be substantially impaired; the court may require the offender to present proof of restitution.

Rome Statute

Article 109 Enforcement of fines and forfeiture measures

1. States Parties shall give effect to fines or forfeitures ordered by the Court under Part 7, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties, and in accordance with the procedure of their national law.

2. If a State Party is unable to give effect to an order for forfeiture, it shall take measures to recover the value of the proceeds, property or assets ordered by the Court to be forfeited, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.

3. Property, or the proceeds of the sale of real property or, where appropriate, the sale of other property, which is obtained by a State Party as a result of its enforcement of a judgement of the Court shall be transferred to the Court.