Trial of the Major War Criminals before International Military Tribunal ...

998-PS
The procedure of the "Standgerichte" is a summary one. It
should lead to an immediate decision. One cannot, evidently,
submit all cases of a certain type to such a procedure. It should
be applied only in cases where the guilt of the accused can be
proved without difficulty. In general, it is possible to prove the
guilt of a person caught in the very act without any circumstantial
procedure. It will probably be possible in many other instances
to obtain without difficulty a clear idea of the guilt of the accused.
But, on the other hand, there will frequently be cases which are
much more complicated than others of the same category. And
if they too are tried by a summary procedure, then the reliability
of the decision will be intolerably reduced.
Section 3, 5 2 of the Ordinance of September 27th, 1941
enumerates the offences falling within the jurisdiction of the
"Standgerichte". The Ordinance does not contain any clause
providing that cases which cannot be dealt with satisfactorily by
a summary procedure, owing to their complexity, must be trans-
ferred to regular tribunals.
Section 3, $ 4 of the Ordinance states that the Reich Protector
can withdraw exceptional cases from the "Standgerichte" and
submit them to the People's Court (Volksgerichtshof). Nobody
acquainted with the spirit of the National Socialist legislation will
believe that this provision of the Ordinance aims at protecting the
rights of the accused. This strange provision, enabling an adminis-
trative official to decide which tribunal is competent to try a
certain criminal case, is clearly inserted in the interest of the
rCgime only. It provides chiefly for important and dangerous cases
of high treason, which call for close investigation. Such an
investigation cannot be expected from Summary
- Page 101 ­
Courts, certainly not from "Standgerichte".
According to the standards recognised by all civilised nations, a
summary procedure is adequate neither for every criminal case, nor
for every person. Dangerously ill and pregnant persons, for example,
will not be able to put forward a serious defence against a charge
before a "Standgericht". They should be tried by regular tribunals
only; otherwise .the proceedings would be degraded to the level of
a farce. But all considerations of this kind are ignored by the
Ordinance of September 27th, 1941.It compels the taking of proceed-
ings under "Standrecht" in the case of any person, without exception,
who is suspected of one of the actions specified in Section 3, 5 2.
A still more obvious restriction of the rights of defence is the
fact that in proceedings-above all in summary proceedings­