SPD Minister Hubig's commission recommends digital recording and automated transcripts for criminal hearings

The expert committee on the Code of Criminal Procedure, commissioned by Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD), is advocating for digital audio documentation of the main hearing with automated transcriptions. This was reported by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Friday edition) before the committee's final report is presented on Monday.

According to the reports, the procedure for written judicial warnings (Strafbefehlsverfahren) is also set to be expanded. This measure is intended to allow more cases to be settled without a full main hearing.

The committee especially focused on reforming criminal judicial main hearings. This primarily concerns the principle of immediacy. According to the report, the committee intends to maintain this principle in its core but sees room for reform where strict adherence to personal interrogation is highly time-consuming without yielding significant insights. Therefore, the existing exceptions are to be broadened.

The committee includes experts from science and practice. However, participating criminal defense attorneys were reportedly on the verge of leaving the committee recently. They feared massive restrictions on the rights of the accused and their own rights, the report stated. They apparently feel fortunate now that they have prevented the worst. In their view, the goal was primarily centered on savings for the states.

The expert committee is based on an agreement within the coalition contract. It is tasked with developing recommendations to make criminal proceedings more efficient and accelerated.