Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume IIIVarious
History
Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume III
Various
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946; War crime trials -- Germany -- Nuremberg
This strengthening of the Special Courts will in any case secure the
uniformity of jurisdiction and will make possible a more extensive
performance than in separated Special Courts. This strengthening of
course is limited by the working capacity of the president and by his
ability to exert influence. The president has to bear both in the
preparation and in the conduct of the trial, the bulk of physical and
intellectual work, a circumstance which sets a natural limit to this
form of strengthening of the Special Courts.
2. Furthermore it is stressed that the Special Courts’ return to their
proper task cannot be seen in organizational measures, but that a
sensible relief of the Special Courts from inappropriate criminal cases
must be accomplished.
_a._ A means thereto is already at hand now in article 24 of the
decree concerning court competence. According to it, Special Courts are
entitled to transfer trivial cases to the local or the criminal courts.
Apparently practice is not uniform in this respect. While some Special
Courts, in view of their excessive pressure of work, have already made
an extended use of the opportunity to transfer cases to the regular
courts, other Special Courts appear to have entirely renounced such a
transfer, carrying through themselves even unimportant criminal cases.
In general they base this on the bad experiences they made when they
transferred cases to the regular jurisdiction.
In spite of that, transfers according to article 24 ought to be
practised to a far greater extent. Through the sentences as suggested
by the prosecutions, through judges’ letters and through directing of
the criminal procedure, care has been taken that local and criminal
courts are being integrated into the framework of Special Court
jurisdiction. Thus, for instance, minor cases of illegal slaughtering,
contact with prisoners of war, etc., could be transferred. If the penal
courts were continuously entrusted with these matters, then they would
also develop a uniform experience, which as yet is not possible. As a
further means of relief, according to the present state of legislation,
a directive to the public prosecutors is suggested with the purpose
that all minor cases should be prosecuted before the penal court and
not before the Special Court. Only political and really important cases
arousing public excitement should be reserved for the Special Courts.
_b._ Hitherto the possibility of letting the president (one single
judge) take decisions in the Special Court has not been sufficiently
made use of. In simple typical cases it is not necessary to call in
assessors and to mobilize the whole apparatus of the Special Courts.
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