There is a reasonably foreseeable risk of death for something to get gross negligence

Necessary means = blowing up a plane to kill one guy

Side effect = plane wreckage falls down and kills a bystander

You have a specific duty of care when you started a danger (fire)

Endangerment offense (arson)

In the Netherlands: considerable chance

In Germany: any possible risk

Tutorial 4

Richard, a wine producer, wants to celebrate the birthday of his boyfriend Lucas by taking him to
his holiday house in the remote village where he grows his vineyards, and by cooking him a
complicated dish. The meal is delicious, but soon Lucas starts having a severe allergic reaction.
It turns out that the dish contained an ingredient to which, unbeknownst to both of them, Lucas
is allergic. Richard knows there is no time to lose if he wants to get him to the nearest hospital.
He picks up Lucas, who is now unconscious, and places him on the backseat of his car. Alerted
by the commotion, the German Shepherd of his neighbour Rosa runs to the middle of the road.
Getting the car out of the driveway, Richard notices the dog, but all he is thinking about is saving
Lucas, and if the dog does not get out of the way, he could not care less. He hits the gas to rush
to the hospital, running over the dog and killing him. Fortunately, Richard makes it to the hospital
just in time for the doctors to save Lucas life.

Analyse the criminal liability of Richard for killing the dog according to German law. Make use of
the tripartite structure in your answer.

● Art. 35 GCC; Art. 303 GCC

○ Art. 303
■ Intentional destruction of property (Art. 15)
● Conditional intent: awareness and acceptance.
■ Justification; necessity
● Imminent danger
● Legitimate interest
● Necessity
● Proportionality
■ Condition not fulfilled as it wasn't unlawful.
It seemed inevitable that Sarah and George would end up divorced. They were just too different.
George moved out of their mansion, and Sarah filed for divorce. One night around 1 a.m., after
George and his assistant Jeff left the office, he decided to go back to the mansion (which is still
his property) to retrieve some business files and clothes he had left behind. George asked Jeff
to come with him to help him carry his belongings. They walked up the front door, George
opened it with his key, and they walked in.

Sarah had gone to bed but woke up when she heard the front door open. She grabbed her
pistol from her purse , walked out of the bedroom to the top of the staircase and yelled: “Who is
that?!” Sarah turned on the light and then saw that it was George and his assistant Jeff. She
yelled, “What the hell are you two doing here?” She pointed her gun at George and said, “Get
out of my house now or I’ll call the police. Don’t come any closer!” George replied, “Oh you can
be such a B**** Sarah. This is still my house too and I am really sick of you running my life. I’m
just coming up to get some stuff I left, and if you don’t like it, that’s your problem!” At that
moment George ran up the stairs, but when he reached the third step, Sarah pulled the trigger.
He fell from the stairs and died instantly.

1. Suppose that this case happened in Germany. What charge could be brought against
Sarah, and what would be your assessment of her criminal liability in terms of possible
defense?
a. Art 212 GCC
i. She shot her husband in the back as he declared himself and stated
what his intentions were in what is still considered his property.

2. Suppose that this case happened in the Netherlands but Jeff was able to hit Sarah with a
vase before she was able to pull the trigger. Sarah falls from the stairs and is seriously
wounded. What charge could be brought against Jeff, and what would be your
assessment of his criminal liability?
a. Art 308 DCC for the initial charge.
b. Art 41 DCC to justify his act.
i. Art. 41:
1. Exceeding limits of self defense.
2. Strong emotion.
a. Sthenic (aggression)
b. Asthenic (fear)
3. Directly brought by attack.

Suppose the following case happened in England. Several months ago 65-year old Sheldon
began a relationship with Amy who is 40 years younger. One day, he gets into a heated
argument with his visiting neighbour Howard who starts to insult him and claims that Amy is only
after his money. Sheldon loses his temper and stabs him several times through the heart with a
kitchen knife. Howard dies immediately. According to the expert witness, a behavioral
neurologist, Sheldon’s behavior during the incident was affected by damage to his frontal lobes.
More specifically, the brain damage had rendered him unable to control his impulses in such
difficult provocative situations. According to his defence lawyer, Sheldon ought to be excused as
the frontal lobe damage has made it very difficult for him, if not impossible, to restrain himself.
● Murder
● S.52, Coroners and Justice Act 2005
○ Diminished Responsibility

Imagine the following case happened in Germany. Alex turned 18 last week and to celebrate his
birthday his friends organize a surprise party. Alex has a hard time remembering some of what
took place as he drank a lot of alcohol. While being drunk, he gets into a fight with his girlfriend
when he sees her flirting with another man. He pushes her hard in the stomach, after which she
has to be taken to the hospital. After Alex was arrested and taken to the police station, he is
submitted to a blood alcohol test, which reveals a high Blood Alcohol Level (BAC). When asked
why he pushed his girlfriend in the stomach, Alex states that he has no clue of why or what he
did and blames it on the beer, Jägerbombs and tequila shots he had during that evening.
● Art. 223 GCC
● Art. 323a GCC