Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
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Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#2Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances?
Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#3Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
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Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#4Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
One avenue, couched in specifics of US law, but I presume the ideas have analogs in Germany's legal system:
A battery occurs when a harmful physical contact occurs. Contact with a weapon is pretty much by definition battery.
The use of such a drug in the commission of rape or other violent crimes would then be a very easily proven case. If the substance is present in a victim's body, then battery has occured, basically by definition.
Given that rape and other violent crimes that are committed with the use of such drugs may not leave other physical signs on the body of the victim, then this may be the only physical evidence.
The examination for presence of such a drug in the bloodstream is also much less intrusive than for a typical rape kit exam.
There's nothing binary or black and white in such investigations, so this is an additional avenue to provide evidence to support the prosecution of these violent criminals.
Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#5Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
I wasn't able to find any information on how exactly that reclassification is happening. Everyone just quotes that one sentence by the Federal Minister of the Interior that they are doing it.
My best guess is that they don't see a chance to get a law to this effect passed (see also the note about the other related bill being postponed), so they are taking some measure that's in the existing jurisdiction of the ministry. That might be the ministry passing regulations to this effect, or the federal police trying to declare date rape drugs as illegal weapons
Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#6Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
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Wait did you just put rape in quotes wtf
Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#7Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Germany has a written legal code. This could mean that punishments are more strictly classified than under a, say, precedence-based common law system. Changing the classification could move these kinds of crimes into harsher punishment bands.
Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#8Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
One avenue, couched in specifics of US law, but I presume the ideas have analogs in Germany's legal system: A battery occurs when a harmful physical contact occurs. Contact with a weapon is pretty much by definition battery. The use of such a drug in the commission of rape or other violent crimes would then be a very easily proven case. If the substance is present in a victim's body, then battery has occured, basical…
> If the substance is present in a victim's body
There is a possibility that the accused has nothing to do with it, you still have to prove it wasn't some third party or the victim who procured and took the drug.
Re: Germany to classify date rape drugs as weapons to ensure justice for survivors
#9Could someone with a background in law explain the advantage of a reclassification over imposing the same penalties on this particular group of substances? Because outside of the legal definition, I would not call those “weapons” in everyday language. They are a thing on their own…
Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Germany has a written legal code. This could mean that punishments are more strictly classified than under a, say, precedence-based common law system. Changing the classification could move these kinds of crimes into harsher punishment bands.
The law being written does not prevent changing it[0]. Someone changed the written law once to add these weapon-specific provisions, they can do it again. And unless the optimal provisions for date rape drugs are identical to those for weapons, they probably should do it again.
[0] It might actually be easier to change a properly written law. I hate our stupid precedent-based system in the US.