Reparation in the German Criminal Justice System: What is, and what Remains to be Done

Abstract

Part one of this article shows how the idea that offenders should make reparation to their victims figures within the German criminal justice system. In analysing the present state of the law, the author differentiates between the procedural and material aspects of reparation. Under the rubric of ‘procedural aspects of reparation’, the structure, function, and practical role of the German ‘Nebenklage’ are described, a feature that allows the victim to participate at trial yet — unlike the ‘victim-impact-statement’ approach taken in some common-law countries — shies away from giving the victim a voice in sentence-finding. In its second part, this article deplores the lack of an overall conceptual foundation for a more fundamental and systematic integration of the concept of reparation into the criminal justice system. With regard to material reparation, the author proposes a revised system of criminal sanctions which would feature measures of reparation next to measures of reprobation (‘punishment’) as a major and regular avenue, or ‘track’, of the state's response to crime.