Press release No. 429 of 29 October 2020
WIESBADEN – In 2019, the criminal courts in Germany convicted approximately 728,900 defendants by final judgment. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the number of defendants convicted increased by roughly 16,500, or 2.3%, compared with 2018. As a result, the number of defendants convicted by final judgment exceeded that of the relevant previous year for the first time since 2007, when criminal prosecution statistics were introduced in all the German Länder. In 2019, the criminal proceedings against roughly another 162,900 people (+3.9% on 2018) ended with court decisions other than convictions (e.g. acquittal or dismissal of proceedings). Defendants can be convicted in accordance with German criminal law only if they have reached the age of criminal responsibility, i.e. are aged 14 years or older at the time of the offence.
