Audio-visual media in criminal proceedings

theme No.: 21d
responsible federal state: Hamburg
date: 19.06.2023 - 23.06.2023

This conference is intended for criminal trial judges, judges conducting preliminary criminal investigations and prosecutors.
It will address the legal framework conditions and the options for the practical implementation of audio-visual media in criminal proceedings. Participants will weigh up the risks and opportunities involved in the use of audio-visual media, discuss them on the basis of specific case studies, and examine how the amendments to sections 58a, 255a German Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) have increased the importance of video-link questioning and testimony. The conference will serve to present how victims' rights are maintained in applying questioning techniques in investigation proceedings.
Furthermore, participants will engage in discussions on how to introduce audio-visual media into the main proceedings in adherence with procedural rules, respond to defences raised against this measure and issue judgments that will be upheld on appeals on points of law. The conference will serve to show which effects audio-visual media can have on how witnesses behave when making statements in testimony. Comparative-law excursions to other states where audio-visual media is already a broadly accepted standard will round the picture off.
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