Developments Does Age Prevent Punishment? The Struggles of the German Juridical System with Alleged Nazi Criminals: Commentary on the Criminal Proceedings Against John Demjanjuk and Heinrich Boere By Susanne Beck* A. Introduction Modern western societies are aging—according to statistical analyses, in 2060, every seventh German citizen will be over 80 years old.1 The challenges of an aging society2 occupy jurisprudence and the legal practice. Issues specific to aging offenders and aging victims are more relevant than ever3 and must be analyzed.4 The question of old age is one of many problematic aspects of two criminal cases recently decided by the German Federal Constitutional Court.5 In the following, age’s relevance to criminal prosecution and * LL.M. (LSE), University of Wuerzburg. Email:
[email protected]‐wuerzburg.de. For decisions involving the cases named in this note’s title, see Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG ‐ Federal Constitutional Court), 15 October 2009, 2 BvR 2331/09; BVerfG, 15 October 2009, 2 BvR 2332/09; BVerfG, 6 October 2009, 2 BvR 1724/09 1 Pressemitteilung des Statistischen Bundesamts Nr. 435, 18 November 2009, available at: www.destatis.de. 2 CHALLENGES OF AN AGING SOCIETY: ETHICAL DILEMMAS, POLITICAL ISSUES (Rachel A. Pruchno & Michael A. Smyer, eds., 2007). 3 Norbert Arnold, Vorwort, in: WIE LANGE DÜRFEN WIR ARBEITEN? ZUKUNFTSFORUM POLITIK 7 (Lenz et.al (eds.) 2006); HERWIG BIRG, DIE DEMOGRAPHISCHE ZEITENWENDE (2001); MEINHARD MIEGEL, DIE DEFORMIERTE GESELLSCHAFT (2002); PETER SCHINMANY, DIE ALTERUNG DER GESELLSCHAFT: