“German law's strong attachment to the idea of codification is intended to prevent the clashes between different areas of law which might result from a piecemeal approach. In addition, codification is also characterised by the development of an abstract (that is, not case-specific) set of rules which allows the legal system to flexibly respond to social developments while at the same time avoiding piecemeal legislation.”
The Core Legal Concepts and Principles Defining Criminal Law in Germany (Chapter 3) - The Limits of Criminal Law
The Limits of Criminal Law - October 2020www.cambridge.org
“The Book of General Provisions of the Criminal Code (§§ 1 – 79b) includes principles significant for the complete area of penal law. It defines the different ways of committing a crime, i.e. completion and attempt, committing a crime and participation (the latter subdivided into instigation and aiding), acting on purpose and negligence, acting and omitting. It also defines self-defence and help in case of emergency and shows the basic consequences of crimes. The Book of General Provisions also regulates the conditions of the application for legal proceedings against somebody and contains the rules about the time limitation period of crimes. German criminal law distinguishes between misdemeanor and crime. Every illegal action with a threat of punishment of at least one year of imprisonment is qualified as a crime.”
Recht, Arbeitsrecht, Erbrecht, Familienrecht, Mietrecht, Reiserecht, Verkehrsrecht
Recht, Arbeitsrecht, Erbrecht, Familienrecht, Mietrecht, Reiserecht, Verkehrsrechtwww.internetratgeber-recht.de
“Approach of the legal process
The two legal systems, common law and civil law are the result of fundamentally different approaches to the legal process. The basic concepts and norms of civil law are written in codes and legislation which are applied by the courts. As a result, codes and legislation predominate with case law serving as a secondary source of law. On the other hand, in the common law system, the law has been primarily formed through court decisions with little regard for a conceptual structure.”
A comparison between civil law countries and common law countries - iPleaders
In this article, the author has compared civil law countries with common law countries.blog.ipleaders.in
Germany practices Civil Law based on a written constitution where laws are codified. This is different to Common Law practiced in the UK where the law is based on prior judgements.
Therefore, it’s not my opinion but a fact that German law is based on rules.
While what you posted is completely correct in terms of Codified systems vs Common law systems, as far as this case goes the process/result is likely to be much the same as a judge alone trial in the UK (i.e.one without a jury).
This is a case which will turn on an assessment of the evidence. It's not going to end up with the wrong result merely because of the different nature of german criminal trials.
For instance, if this case were held in the UK, there is also a very good chance the search warrant evidence would be tossed out. In the UK, the profiler probably would not have been allowed to even testify IMO.