IX. The Judiciary
Article 96
[Other federal courts]
(5) With the consent of the Bundesrat, a federal law may provide that courts of the Länder shall exercise federal jurisdiction over criminal proceedings in the following matters:
genocide;
crimes against humanity under international criminal law;
war crimes;
other acts tending to and undertaken with the intent to disturb the peaceful relations between nations (paragraph (1) of Article 26);
GENERAL PART
CHAPTER ONE
THE CRIMINAL LAW
FIRST TITLE
APPLICATION, JURISDICTION RATIONE LOCI ET TEMPORIS
Section 3
Offences committed on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany
German criminal law shall apply to acts committed on German territory.
GENERAL PART
CHAPTER ONE
THE CRIMINAL LAW
FIRST TITLE
APPLICATION, JURISDICTION RATIONE LOCI ET TEMPORIS
Section 4
Offences committed on German ships and aircraft
German criminal law shall apply, regardless of the law applicable in the locality where the act was committed, to acts committed on a ship or an aircraft entitled to fly the federal flag or the national insignia of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Section 5
Offences committed abroad against domestic legal interests
German criminal law shall apply, regardless of the law applicable in the locality where the act was committed, to the following acts committed abroad:
1. preparation of a war of aggression (section 80);
2. high treason against the Federation (Sections 81 to 83);
3. endangering the democratic state under the rule of law
(a) in cases under section 89 and section 90a(1), and section 90b, if the offender is German and has his main livelihood in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany ; and
(b) in cases under section 90 and section 90a(2);
4. treason and endangering external national security (Sections 94 to 100a);
5. offences against the national defence:
(a) in cases under section 109 and sections 109e to 109g; and
(b) in cases under section 109a, section 109d and section 109h, if the offender is German and has his main livelihood in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany
6. Causing the danger of political persecution (section 234a, section241a) if the act is directed against a German who has his domicile or usual residence in Germany ;
6a. abduction of minors in cases under section 235(2) No 2, if the act is directed against a person who has his domicile or usual residence in Germany;
7. violation of business or trade secrets of a business physically located within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, or of an enterprise, which has its seat there, or of an enterprise with its seat abroad and which is dependent on an enterprise with its seat within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and which forms a group with the latter;
8. offences against sexual self-determination:
(a) in cases under section 174(1) and (3), if the offender and the victim are German at the time of the offence and have their main livelihood in Germany; and
(b) in cases under sections 176 to 176b and section 182, if the offender is German;
9. abortion (section 218), if the offender at the time of the offence is German and has his main livelihood in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany;
10. false testimony, perjury and false sworn affidavits (Sections 153 to 156) in proceedings pending before a court or another German authority within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany that has the authority to administer oaths or affirmations in lieu of oath;
11. offences against the environment under section 324, section 326, section 330 and section 330a committed within Germany’s exclusive economic zone, to the extent that international conventions on the protection of the sea allow for their prosecution as criminal offences;
11a. offences under section 328(2) Nos 3 and 4, (4) and (5), also in conjunction with section 330, if the offender is German at the time of the offence;
12. offences committed by a German public official or a person entrusted with special public service functions during their official stay or in connection with their official duties;
13. acts committed by a foreigner as a public official or as a person entrusted with special public service functions;
14. acts committed against public officials, persons entrusted with special public service functions, or soldiers in the Armed Forces during the discharge of their duties or in connection with their duties;
14a. bribing delegates (section 108e) if the offender is German at the time of the offence or the offence was committed vis-à-vis a German;
15. trafficking in human organs (section 18 of the Transplantation Act), if the offender is German at the time of the offence.
GENERAL PART
CHAPTER ONE
THE CRIMINAL LAW
FIRST TITLE
APPLICATION, JURISDICTION RATIONE LOCI ET TEMPORIS
Section 5
Offences committed abroad against domestic legal interests
German criminal law shall apply, regardless of the law applicable in the locality where the act was committed, to the following acts committed abroad:
1. preparation of a war of aggression (section 80);
GENERAL PART
CHAPTER ONE
THE CRIMINAL LAW
FIRST TITLE
APPLICATION, JURISDICTION RATIONE LOCI ET TEMPORIS
Section 6
Offences committed abroad against internationally protected legal interests
German criminal law shall further apply, regardless of the law of the locality where they are committed, to the following offences committed abroad:
1. (repealed) ;
2. offences involving nuclear energy, explosives and radiation under section 307 and section 308(1) to (4), section 309(2) and section 310; 3. attacks on air and maritime traffic (section 316c);
4. human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, for the purpose of work exploitation and assisting human trafficking (Sections 232 to 233a);
5. unlawful drug dealing;
6. distribution of pornography under sections 184a, 184b (1) to (3) and section 184c (1) to (3), also in conjunction with section 184d, 1st sentence;
7. counterfeiting money and securities (section 146, section 151 and section 152), credit cards etc and blank eurocheque forms (section 152b(1) to (4)) as well as the relevant preparatory acts (Sections 149, 151, 152 and 152b(5));
8. subsidy fraud (section 264);
9. offences which on the basis of an international agreement binding on the Federal Republic of Germany must be prosecuted even though committed abroad.
Section 7
Offences committed abroad—other cases
(1) German criminal law shall apply to offences committed abroad against a German, if the act is a criminal offence at the locality of its commission or if that locality is not subject to any criminal jurisdiction.
(2) German criminal law shall apply to other offences committed abroad if the act is a criminal offence at the locality of its commission or if that locality is not subject to any criminal law jurisdiction, and if the offender:
1. was German at the time of the offence or became German after the commission; or
2. was a foreigner at the time of the offence, is discovered in Germany and, although the Extradition Act would permit extradition for such an offence, is not extradited because a request for extradition within a reasonable period of time is not made, is rejected, or the extradition is not feasible.
GENERAL PART
CHAPTER ONE
THE CRIMINAL LAW
FIRST TITLE
APPLICATION, JURISDICTION RATIONE LOCI ET TEMPORIS
Section 9
Place of the offence
(2) Acts of secondary participation are committed not only in the place where the offence was committed, but also in every place where the secondary participant acted or, in the case of an omission, should have acted or where, according to his intention, the offence should have been committed. If the secondary participant to an offence committed abroad acted within the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, German criminal law shall apply to the secondary participation even though the act is not a criminal offence according to the law of the locality of its commission.
SPECIAL PART
CHAPTER TWO
TREASON AND ENDANGERING EXTERNAL NATIONAL SECURITY
Section 100
Engaging in relations that endanger peace
(1) Whosoever as a German, who has his residence in the Federal Republic of Germany, and with the intent of starting a war or armed attack against the Federal Republic of Germany, establishes or maintains relationships with a government, organisation or institution outside the Federal Republic of Germany or one of its intermediaries, shall be liable to imprisonment of not less than one year.
(2) In especially serious cases the penalty shall be imprisonment for life or not less than five years. An especially serious case typically occurs if the offender through the offence creates a serious danger to the continued existence of the Federal Republic of Germany.
(3) In less serious cases the penalty shall be imprisonment from one to five years.
1. The Court has jurisdiction only with respect to crimes committed after the entry into force of this Statute.
2. If a State becomes a Party to this Statute after its entry into force, the Court may exercise its jurisdiction only with respect to crimes committed after the entry into force of this Statute for that State, unless that State has made a declaration under article 12, paragraph 3.
1. A State which becomes a Party to this Statute thereby accepts the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to the crimes referred to in article 5.
2. In the case of article 13, paragraph (a) or (c), the Court may exercise its jurisdiction if one or more of the following States are Parties to this Statute or have accepted the jurisdiction of the Court in accordance with paragraph 3:
(a) The State on the territory of which the conduct in question occurred or, if the crime was committed on board a vessel or aircraft, the State of registration of that vessel or aircraft;
(b) The State of which the person accused of the crime is a national.
3. If the acceptance of a State which is not a Party to this Statute is required under paragraph 2, that State may, by declaration lodged with the Registrar, accept the exercise of jurisdiction by the Court with respect to the crime in question. The accepting State shall cooperate with the Court without any delay or exception in accordance with Part 9.
The Court may exercise its jurisdiction with respect to a crime referred to in article 5 in accordance with the provisions of this Statute if:
(a) A situation in which one or more of such crimes appears to have been committed is referred to the Prosecutor by a State Party in accordance with article 14;
(b) A situation in which one or more of such crimes appears to have been committed is referred to the Prosecutor by the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations; or
(c) The Prosecutor has initiated an investigation in respect of such a crime in accordance with article 15.