When Consent Is Not Enough: Gangs, Public Policy and Criminal Law in Germany

摘要

The District Court at Stuttgart convicted three men of causing bodily harm by dangerous means (gefaehrliche Korperverletzung) under s. 224 of the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch-StGB). The defendants were members of a youth gang who agreed to a fight with another group of young people following mutual provocation. The tacit agreement among the participants included fist-fighting and kicking, taking into account the possibility of serious injuries. In the course of the events in question some members of the group opposing the defendants were seriously injured. One person had to be treated in hospital for three days, initially in an intensive care unit.