Das neue Strafrecht

Abstract

A new kind of penal law seems to emerge. Since the late 1970s, the idea of prevention has gained importance beyond the discussion of the purpose of a penalty for a specific offence. Penalizing is now understood as a reasonable action to avert prospectively anticipated dangers to society. Informal loss of control and mega-dangers demand more control through criminal law. Alongside technical prevention a striking penal attribution of responsibility is demanded. Thus, punishing becomes potentially excessive because it refers to an imaginary, not precisely assessable threat whose definite neutralization is sought. The search for the most comprehensive precaution possible favors the tendency to expand the scope and to tighten the sanctions of criminal law. On the other hand, the criminal prosecution becomes more flexible through practices of diversion, informal agreements, early and discreet dispositions of proceedings.