The state’s sharpest instrument — and its strictest limits.
Ultima ratio
Criminal law is the most intrusive means the state has. German constitutional doctrine therefore treats it as the last resort (ultima ratio): conduct may be punished only where milder means are insufficient, offences must be precisely defined (Art. 103(2) Basic Law), and every penalty and investigative power must be proportionate. These limits are not obstacles to justice policy but part of it.
This page presents the ministry’s criminal-law projects alongside the arguments raised against them. Stronger enforcement is not treated as automatically positive, and civil-liberties objections are not treated as automatically decisive.
| Measure | Stated aim | Principal objections | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital violence law | New offences for sexualised deepfakes (including production), digital voyeurism, identity theft and stalking with spyware or trackers; court-ordered temporary account blocks; disclosure claims against anonymous offenders. | Civil-rights groups question the proportionality of account blocks and vague terms; some academics call new single-issue offences symbolic and hard to enforce. | Cabinet 7 Oct 2026 |
| Knock-out drugs | Using dangerous substances such as K.o. drops in sexual offences and robbery to carry a minimum five-year sentence, responding to a Federal Court of Justice ruling of October 2024. | The German Bar Association and the Federal Bar see no regulatory gap and no empirical basis; existing sentencing rules suffice. | Legislative process |
| Femicide | Hubig has proposed amending the murder provision (§ 211 Criminal Code) so that killing a woman because she is a woman counts as murder, and jealousy no longer mitigates. | No draft published; debate over whether existing “base motives” already cover such cases. Lower Saxony launched its own Bundesrat initiative in May 2026. | Proposed |
| Incitement and eligibility | Courts may remove eligibility for public office for 2–5 years after a sentence of at least one year for incitement to hatred. | Bar associations raise constitutional concerns; critics warn of misuse against political opponents. The government stresses that courts, not politicians, decide. | Cabinet 30 Sep 2026 |
| Terrorism & everyday objects | Draft of July 2025 to address attacks using cars or knives and strengthen provisions on espionage. | No specific, well-sourced objections from lawyers’ associations identified. | Legislative process |
| IP-address storage | Three-month storage to identify perpetrators of online offences. | Mass storage without suspicion; doubtful compatibility with EU law. See Digital Crime. | Committee stage |
Victims at the centre
A recurring theme of Hubig’s criminal-law agenda is the position of victims: electronic monitoring of violent partners, psychosocial support during trials, disclosure claims for people harassed online, and higher penalties for drug-facilitated sexual violence. In April 2026 she explained in the Bundestag why the draft set different penalty ranges for pornographic deepfakes and for rape.
Victim protection and defendants’ rights are not opposites. A fair trial requires both: the protection of witnesses from re-traumatisation and the defendant’s right to confront evidence. The ministry’s commission on criminal procedure is tasked with accelerating trials within these limits.
Protection from violenceEvidence in the digital age
Much modern crime leaves only digital traces: IP addresses, account data, server logs. Investigative powers to secure such evidence are among the most contested topics in German criminal policy because they touch communications secrecy (Art. 10 Basic Law) and informational self-determination. In July 2026 the Bundestag held a first reading on a bill on digital investigative measures in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Organised crime, online fraud and the distribution of child sexual abuse material are the government’s principal examples for why these powers are needed.
Rule-of-law limits
- Judicial authorisation for intrusive measures (warrants, preservation orders).
- Clearly defined catalogues of offences for which powers may be used.
- Notification of affected persons and legal remedies.
- Deletion periods and purpose limitation for stored data.
- Review by the Federal Constitutional Court and the Court of Justice of the EU.
Sources
- beck-aktuell, cabinet adopts law against digital violence, 7 October 2026 — beck-aktuell.de
- netzpolitik.org and ZDF, draft law on digital violence, April 2026
- LTO, cabinet adopts tougher penalties for K.o. drops; criticism from DAV and BRAK, May 2026 — lto.de
- ZDF, Hubig on femicide and the murder provision, May 2026 — zdfheute.de
- beck-aktuell, draft law on terrorism with everyday objects and espionage, 23 July 2025
- Regional reporting on the incitement/eligibility bill, October 2026 (to be confirmed against official cabinet material)