The New German Darknet-Criminal Law-Draft : Darkening by Restricting Individual Rights

Abstract

The paper discusses against the background of the current initiative of the German legislator whether criminal law needs to be adapted at all, simply because criminals are going digital. Currently in Germany, the introduction of a new crime law which punishes those, who – illegally and without the possible supervision of the law – are trafficking in goods, or are providing the opportunity for others to do so via the clear-, the deep-, or the darknet. The German legislator with his current draft is simply replying to investigative needs. That is not to be underrated, however, it is not sufficient to introduce another criminal offence by simply preparing the scenery and abstractly endangering the legally protected interest as sufficient to set out punishment.