The Reich government has ratified the following law which is herewith announced:
Article 1
Creation of Law by suitable application of the penal law.
The sect. 2 and 2a of the penal code contain the following wording:
sect. 2
Any person who commits an act which the law declares to be punishable or which is deserving of penalty according to the fundamental conceptions of the penal law and sound popular feeling, shall be punished. If there is no penal law directly covering an act it shall be punished under that law which most closely fits, in regards to fundamental conception.
sect. 2a
The culpability of the act and the punishment are determined according to the law which is in force at the time of the act.
Should a milder law be in force at the time of judgment than at the time of the act, then the milder law can be applied; should the act no longer be subjected to punishment at the time of judgment, then punishment may not take place.
A law which is only valid for a designated time is also to be applied upon the acts which have been committed during its validity even if it has been rescinded.
Decisions on disciplinary measures of security and improvement are to be made according to the law which is in force at the time of judgment.
Berlin 28 June 1935|
Source: Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression Volume IV Office of the United States Chief Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality Washington, DC : United States Government Printing Office, 1946 |