MATERIAL TRUTH AS OBJECTIVE AND PRINCIPLE OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

Abstract

The article highlights the issue of truth as one of the objectives of criminal proceedings in the Federal Republic of Germany in relation to fairness and legal stability. It is stated that the understanding of truth as objective of the criminal procedure directly derives from the functional orientation of the latter: in particular, the general function of criminal proceedings is to provide the enforcement of a substantive criminal law, which, in turn, requires that criminal procedure be inevitably aimed at establishing material truth. An exhaustive analysis of the principle of the establishment of material truth (also known as «inquisitorial principle», «instructional principle», «investigatory principle», or «the principle of establishing material truth») in the criminal procedure of the Federal Republic of Germany, its essence, meaning and a normative basis in the criminal procedural legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as its further development in the case law, including decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice, is carried out. It is noted that in order to establish truth, the public prosecution shall investigate both aggravating and mitigating circumstances, as well as take measures aimed at preserving evidence that may be lost, and the court shall ex officio extend the examination of evidence to all facts and means of proof relevant to the decision in the case. In this connection, the procedural obligation of the court to establish material truth in the criminal proceedings, its content, scope and limits is characterized. Such a principle is implemented, first of all, by the presiding judge, conducting the trial and determining its course and direction. Therefore, if specific facts and circumstances are relevant in the course of a sentencing, the court is obliged to examine the corresponding evidence, even if the interested parties to the proceedings do not file a motion for it or object to it. Consequently, the particular importance of the trial stage to establish truth in the criminal proceedings in the Federal Republic of Germany is emphasized. In addition, the features of the judge's conviction and its importance for establishing truth in the criminal proceedings of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the requirements for its formation in the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, are considered. It is substantiated that the establishment of exceptionally true facts and circumstances in the case is not only a necessary basis for a lawful, just and fair court decision, but also a prerequisite for the implementation of the substantive criminal law of the Federal Republic of Germany, above all – the principle of liability exclusively in the presence of guilt.