Punishability of Male Circumcision: A Judgment That Caused an Amendment of the German Civil Code
by Silvia Tellenbach
Question(s) at stake
Whether male circumcision constitutes bodily harm?
Outcome of the ruling
Male circumcision constitutes the offence of bodily harm, but the defendant had to be acquitted because he made an unavoidable mistake regarding the unlawfulness of the circumcision and therefore acted without guilt.
Country:
Official citation
Regional Court Cologne, Judgment of 07 May 2012, 151 Ns 169/11 (LG Köln, Urteil vom 07.05.2012, 151 Ns 169/11)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Best interests of the child Bodily harm Male circumcision Mistake of law Right to physical integrity Right of parents to ensure the religious and moral education of their children
Tag(s):
Educational rights of the parents
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Silvia Tellenbach (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany)
Dr. Dr.h.c. Silvia Tellenbach is the long-time former Head of the Turkey, Iran and Arab States Unit at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law (presently: 'Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law').
Within the CUREDI project, she is using her expertise in criminal law in Germany to identify court decisions, where cultural and religious diversity issues were involved. In addition to writing templates on such cases, she acts as a reviewer and is a member of the CUREDI Editorial Board.