Does Age Prevent Punishment? The Struggles of the German Juridical System with Alleged Nazi Criminals: Commentary on the Criminal Proceedings Against John Demjanjuk and Heinrich Boere

Abstract

Modern western societies are aging—according to statistical analyses, in 2060, every seventh German citizen will be over 80 years old. The challenges of an aging society occupy jurisprudence and the legal practice. Issues specific to aging offenders and aging victims are more relevant than ever and must be analyzed. The question of old age is one of many problematic aspects of two criminal cases recently decided by the German Federal Constitutional Court. In the following, age's relevance to criminal prosecution and material criminal law will be discussed and related to an analysis of the proceedings of John Demjanjuk and Heinrich Boere, two alleged Nazi criminals, tried in their old age. Demjanjuk's case especially has raised questions well beyond the relevance of his age (89 years). The cases open up many interesting facets of German criminal procedural law and material law connected to the crimes of the Nazi era.