1. The right to demand information

The German criminal law provides every injured person the right to demand information on the outcome of the proceedings as far as it relates to him (§ 406 d StPO). Also, he may view the files through an attorney (§ 406 e StPO).

Furthermore, the criminal prosecuting authorities may also grant him direct access to individual information from the files if he shows he has a legal interest in it (§ 406 e StPO).  The injured party is also entitled to incidental action and may in addition personally take part in the main hearing and also call on the help of a an attorney. This attorney also has the right to be present at judicial examination of the evidence outside the main hearing (§ 406 g StPO).

2. The right to influence the development of criminal proceedings and to actively participate in them (as a joint plaintiff)

Not every victim has a right to influence the criminal proceedings. The victim is only granted the opportunity  to influence the criminal process for certain criminal offences. The code of criminal procedural law lists these offences individually in § 395 StPO (in particular, sexual offences, crimes against honour, crimes causing bodily harm, unlawful killing).

The injured party may add himselve to the case filed by the prosecuting attorney’s office as an incidental prosecuting party if the requirements of § 395 StPO are met. The party is entitled to be present at the main hearing and may pose questions there, query others’ questions, call for certain evidence to be brought forward and give statements (§ 397 StPO).

3. The right to appeal

A crime victim is also entitled to appeal if the court dismisses the case or abandons proceedings because of obstacle to proceedings (§ 400 StPO). In addition, it may also lodge an appeal or revision against the judgement so far as it concerns the verdict of guilt (§ 400 StPO).

4. The right to use the assistance of a (paid) lawyer and to be represented by one

§ 406 f StPO grants all injured parties to call on the services of an attorney. All victims of serious crime, sexual offences and organised crime (see § 395 StPO), who are to be heard by the prosecuting attorney’s office or a judge as witnesses and who are probably not sufficiently able to recognise their legal rights during the hearing, are entitled to be assigned an attorney at the cost of the state (§ 68 b StPO). In addition, all injured parties are entitled to act as an incidental prosecuting party. They have a right to use the services of an attorney paid by the state if the offence is a serious crime or they are not yet 16 years old (§§ 397 a, 406 g StPO).

5. Legal and practical mechanisms used to help protect the victim or reduce the stress caused to them by criminal proceedings

The public can officially and, for a motion, must be excluded according to § 171 b GVG if the injured party must be heard on matters of his private life, at least if the interest in public discussion of these matters is not (exceptionally) predominant.

For the duration of the testimony of the witness the accused may be excluded from the main hearing if it is deemed that the witness, while in the presence of the accused will not tell the truth. The same rule applies if considerable disadvantages otherwise threaten the well-being and health of the witness. Afterwards, the accused must, however, be informed of the content of the hearing  ( § 247 StPO).

In case that the grave danger of a serious disadvantage to the well-being of the witness can not be avoided merely through the exclusion of the accused and the public, it can eventually be considered to use an audio-visual witness hearing, § 247 a StPO.

6. The obligations of crime victims

Victims also have obligations during the criminal proceedings. They are obliged to give evidence before the prosecuting attorney’s office and the court and, in case they are a witness to the crime, they have no right of witness exemption.