32 Art. 103 GG: Right to a Lawful Hearing, Ban on Retroactive Punishment, and Ban on Multiple Punishments for the Same Crime

Abstract

This chapter discusses three separate fundamental rights that are guaranteed in Art. 103 of the Grundgesetz (GG): the right to a hearing before a court, the ban on retroactive punishment and the requirement of specificity in criminal laws, and the ban on multiple punishments for the same crime. It first examines the Federal Constitutional Court's jurisprudence concerning the function and significance of the right to a hearing and the direct applicability of Art. 103 before explaining the Court's position on the timing of the hearing and the right to a hearing in relation to the procedural rules of preclusion. It also analyses the Court's decisions in cases relating to the requirement of specificity in criminal laws and the prohibition of retroactivity, including those that deal with Sit-In Protest and preventive detention.