- Suspect
A suspect is any person who is being investigated on the basis of initial suspicion. This means that there is only a vague suspicion and not yet a concrete suspicion of a crime. - Accused
An accused person is any person who, on the basis of certain facts, is specifically suspected of having committed a criminal act and, in order to clarify this suspicion, evidence has been taken or investigative measures have been ordered or carried out. An accused is therefore a suspect against whom criminal proceedings are being conducted. - Defendant
If charges are brought against an accused, the accused becomes a defendant. - Affected person
Persons whose rights are directly affected by investigative or coercive measures (e.g. arrest, house search) are affected persons. Although they are not involved in the proceedings, they nevertheless have certain procedural rights that the accused also enjoys, such as the right to be heard or the right to be informed about the reason for and purpose of the procedural actions taken against them. - Defense attorney
The defense attorney is the legal counsel of the accused in the proceedings. - Victim
The concept of victim is very broad in criminal proceedings. Thus, not only is any person a victim who has suffered damage as a result of a criminal act or whose legal rights protected by criminal law may otherwise be impaired, but also any person who may have been subjected to violence or dangerous threats as a result of a criminal act committed intentionally, whose sexual integrity and self-determination may have been impaired or whose personal dependence may have been exploited as a result of such an act. Certain relatives of a person whose death may have been caused by a criminal act also have victim status (e.g. spouse, registered partner).
The Code of Criminal Procedure also grants certain rights to victims in criminal proceedings so that they can assert their interest in the conviction of the accused. In particular, victims have the right to participate in the criminal proceedings as private parties and to assert any claims (e.g. damages) against the accused.
Criminal police, public prosecutors and courts are obliged to give due consideration to the rights, interests and special protection needs of the victim. - Private party
A private party is a victim who declares his or her participation in the proceedings in order to claim compensation for the damage or impairment suffered – private parties can thus assert certain claims (e.g. damages) against the defendant arising from the crime. In order to become a private party, the victim must join the proceedings until the end of the evidentiary proceedings, indicating the amount of compensation claimed. In addition to the general rights of the victim, private parties also have the possibility to file motions for evidence or to elaborate and substantiate their claims after the prosecutor’s closing statement.
If a conviction is subsequently handed down by the court, the defendant – provided the court considers the private party’s asserted claims to be at least partially justified – is ordered to pay a certain sum. If, however, the defendant is acquitted or the court considers the claim to be unjustified, the claims must be asserted in civil proceedings. - Prosecutor/Private Prosecutor
In principle, the prosecution is the responsibility of the public prosecutor’s office. However, there are also offenses in which the public prosecutor’s office has no prosecution competence. Which offenses are so-called private prosecution offenses, and who is authorized to prosecute, is determined in each case by the law.
The special feature of private prosecution offenses in comparison to official offenses – i.e. offenses that are to be prosecuted by the public prosecutor’s office ex officio – is the fact that, with a few exceptions, there are no investigation proceedings.
In the main proceedings, the private prosecutor has the legal status of a public prosecutor. If he does not appear at the main hearing and does not present the charges there, the proceedings shall be discontinued by order.
If there is ultimately no conviction, the private prosecutor shall be ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.
Examples of offenses that are subject to privat prosecution are defamation (§ 111 StGB) or insult (§ 115 StGB), but also theft (§ 127 StGB in conjunction with § 166 StGB) or damage to property (§ 125 StGB in conjunction with § 166 StGB) within the family circle.
A distinction must be made between private prosecution offenses and so-called authorization offenses. Here, prosecution is carried out by the public prosecutor’s office, but only if the person concerned authorizes the public prosecutor’s office to do so. Examples are deception (§ 108 StGB) or trespass (§ 109 StGB). - Witness
A witness is a person who is not the accused and who could have perceived facts essential to the clarification of a criminal act or otherwise relating to the subject matter of the proceedings and who is to testify about them. The witness is obliged to testify correctly and completely.
