Criminalizing male circumcision? Case Note: Landgericht Cologne, Judgment of 7 May 2012 - No. 151 Ns 169/11

German Law Journal

Volumn 13, Issue 9, 2012, Pages 1131-1145

  Fateh Moghadam, Bijan ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MÜNSTER   (Germany)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84928727988     PISSN: None     EISSN: 20718322     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S2071832200018083     Document Type: Article

References (39)

1. Deutscher Bundestag Drucksache 17/10332.
2. Deutscher Bundestag Drucksache 17/10332.
3. LG Köln, Beschneidung, Judgement of Monday, 7 May 2012, No. 151 Ns 169/11, Neue Juristische Wochenschrift (NJW), 2128 = LG Köln, Beschneidung, Urteil of Monday, 7 May 2012, No. 151 Ns 169/11, Juristenzeitung (JZ), 805.
4. Cf. comments by Werner Beulke & Annika Dießner, "(...) ein kleiner Schnitt für einen Menschen, aber ein großes Thema für die Menschheit." ("A small cut on a man, but a big issue for humanity"). Warum das Urteil des LG Köln zur religiös motivierten Beschneidung von Knaben nicht überzeugt (Why the judgment of the Court of Cologne for religiously motivated circumcision of boys was not convincing), 7 ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR INTERNATIONALE STRAFRECHTSDOGMATIK (ZIS) 338 (2012)
5. Barbara Rox, Anmerkung zu LG Köln, Urteil v. 7.5.2012-151 Ns 169/11, 67 JZ 806 (2012). An English translation of the judgment is provided by the ILM-Website of Durham University, available at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/ilm/news/?itemno=14984 (last accessed: 31 August 2012).
6. Initially Holm Putzke, Die strafrechtliche Relevanz der Beschneidung von Knaben. Zugleich ein Beitrag über die Grenzen der Einwilligung in Fällen der Personenfürsorge (a contribution on the boundaries of consent with regard to the right to care and custody of the child), in STRAFRECHT ZWISCHEN SYSTEM UND TELOS. FESTSCHRIFT FÜR ROLF DIETRICH HERZBERG ZUM 70. GEBURTSTAG AM 669 (Holm Putzke, Bernhard Hardtung, Tatjana Hörnle, et. al. eds., 2008)
7. Rolf Dietrich Herzberg, Rechtliche Probleme der rituellen Beschneidung (Legal problems of ritual circumcision) JZ 332 (2009). Meanwhile adopted by parts of the commentary literature Theodor Lenckner & Detlev Sternberg-Lieben, Vor §§ 32 ff. StGB, in STRAFGESETZBUCH. KOMMENTAR (Adolf Schönke & Horst Schröder eds., 28th ed., 2010), 554, Vorbem. §§ 32 ff., margin number 41.; Horst Schlehofer, Vor §§ 32 ff., in MÜNCHENER KOMMENTAR ZUM STRAFGESETZBUCH. §§ 1-37 STGB (Bernd von Heintschel-Heinegg ed., 2nd ed., 2011), at margin number 143.
8. Due to the (preliminary) findings of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg i. Br., Germany, answering an urgent request of the Federal Department of Justice, no country could be identified that legally prohibits male circumcision of children.
9. For a more detailed exposition of the lawfulness of male circumcision cf. Bijan Fateh-Moghadam, Religiöse Rechtfertigung? Die Beschneidung von Knaben zwischen Strafrecht, Religionsfreiheit und elterlichem Sorgerecht (Religious justification? Circumcision of boys between criminal law, freedom of religion and parental custody), 1 RECHTSWISSENSCHAFT ZEITSCHRIFT FÜR RECHTSWISSENSCHAFTLICHE FORSCHUNG 115 (2010)
10. farther with variant reasoning: EDWARD SCHRAMM, EHE UND FAMILIE IM STRAFRECHT. 114 EINE STRAFRECHTSDOGMATISCHE UNTERSUCHUNG (A doctrinal investigation of the criminal law) 226 ff. (2011)
11. BRIAN VALERIUS, KULTUR UND STRAFRECHT. DIE BERÜCKSICHTIGUNG KULTURELLER WERTVORSTELLUNGEN IN DER DEUTSCHEN STRAFRECHTSDOGMATIK, vol. 230 152 ff. (2011)
12. AG Köln, Knabenbeschneidung, Judgement of Wednesday, 21 September 2011, No. 528 Ds 30/11; 34 Js 468/10.
13. Cf. LG Köln (note 3), 2128 ff.
14. Exner supposes that male circumcision - albeit being lawful qua social adequacy - is contrary to the self-determination interests of children and might even be violating their dignity (THOMAS EXNER, SOZIALADÄQUANZ IM STRAFRECHT. ZUR KNABENBESCHNEIDUNG (Social adequacy in criminal law), vol. 216 55 #.(2011)).
15. Cf. Christian Walter, Beschnitten. Der Staat muss sein Wächteramt ernst nehmen. Aber religiöse Gefahrenabwehr darf nicht in Religionsabwehr umschlagen (Circumcised: The state must take its role on guardian seriously; but defense of religious dangers must not turn into defense of religion), FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE SONNTAGSZEITUNG (FAZ) 6 (2012)
16. Claus Roxin, Strafrecht Allgemeiner Teil. Grundlagen. Der Aufbau der Verbrechenslehre, VOL. 1 §13, MARGIN NUMBER 92 FF.; MARGIN NUMBER 16 (2006).
17. Cf. Matthias Jestaedt, Art. 6 Abs. 2 und 3, in BONNER KOMMENTAR ZUM GRUNDGESETZ (Rudolf Dolzer, Christian Waldhoff & Karin Graßhof eds., 139th ed., Dezember 1995-1996), 1, margin number 42.
18. A quite similar test is proposed for the English common law principle of the best interest of the child, Sir James Munby, Consent to Treatment: Patients Lacking Capacity and Children, in PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL LAW 491, 556 at paras. 10.177 (Andrew Grubb, Judith Laing, Jean McHale & Ian Kennedy eds., 2010).
19. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), MALE CIRCUMCISION. GLOBAL TRENDS AND DETERMINANTS OF PREVALENCE, SAFETY AND ACCEPTABILITY 17 ff., available at: http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2007/9789241596169eng.pdf (last accessed: 31 August 2012): "Neonatal male circumcision is a relatively simple, quick and safe procedure when performed in a clinical setting under aseptic conditions by trained professionals. Complications rates are between 1 in 500 and 2 in 100 and are usually minor."
20. Cf. Aaron A. R. Tobian & Ronald H. Gray, The Medical benefits of Male Circumcision, 306 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 1479 (2011)
21. Cf. Bertran Auvert, Dirk Taljaard, Emmanuel Lagarde et. al., Randomized, Controlled Intervention Trial of Male Circumcision for Reduction of HIV Infection Risk: The ANRS 1265 Trial, 2 Public Library of Science Medicine 1112 (2005)
22. Ronald Gray, Godfrey Kigozi, David Serwadda et. al., Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in Men in Rakai, Uganda: A Randomised Trial, 369 The Lancet 657 (2007)
23. Robert Bailey, Stephen Moses, Corette Parker et. al., Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in Young Men in Kismu, Kenya: A Randomised Controlled Trial, 369 The Lancet 643 (2007)
24. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, CDC HIV/AIDS Science Facts: Male Circumcision and Risk for HIV Transmission and Other Health Conditions: Implications for the United States.
25. American Academy of Pediatrics, Task Force on Circumcision, Circumcision Policy Statement, Pediatrics Volume 130, Number 3, September 2012, 585-586, originally published online August 27, 2012, available at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/08/22/peds.2012-1989 2012 (last accessed: 31 August 2012).
26. American Academy of Pediatrics, TASK FORCE ON CIRCUMCISION, Technical Report, Male Circumcision, 130(3) pediatrics 756-758, originally published online on August 27, 2012, available at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/08/22/peds.2012-1990 (last accessed: 31 August 2012).
27. (CA (Civ Div)) Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Re J (A Minor), Specific Issue Order of Thursday, 25 November 1999
28. Family Division, Re J (A Minor), Specific Issue Order of Thursday, 6 May 1999, No. [1999] 2 F.L.R. 678
29. (CA (Civ Div)) Court of Appeal (Civil Division), Re S (Children) Specific Issue Orders of Friday, 30 July 2004, No. [2004] EWCA Civ 1257, Westlaw.
30. SIR MUNBY (note 20), 556 (para 10.178).
31. John Rawls, Political Liberalism XIX, XXIV, 4, 36, 37 (1993).
32. Johanna Schiratzki, Banning God's Law in the Name of the Holy Body - The Nordic Position on Ritual Male Circumcision, 5 The Family in Law 35 (2011).
33. CF. Stefan Huster, 90 Die ethische Neutralität des Staates. Eine liberale Interpretation der Verfassung (THE ETHICAL NEUTRALITY OF THE STATE. A LIBERAL INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION, 2002).
34. Jürgen Habermas, POLYFONIE DER MEINUNGEN. WIE VIEL RELIGION VERTRÄGT DER LIBERALE STAAT? (Polyphony of opinions. How much religion is compatible with the liberal state?), available at: http://www.nzz.ch/aktuell/startseite/wie-viel-religion-vertraegt-der-liberale-staat-1.17432314 (last accessed: 31 August 2012).
35. JOCELYN MACLURE & CHARLES TAYLOR, SECULARISM AND FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE 65 ff. (2011).
36. Cf. draft statute on the rights of patients, available at: http://www.bmj.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/pdfs/RegEGesetzzurVerbesserungderRechtevonPatientinnenundPatienten.pdf?blob=publicationFile (last accessed: 31 August 2012).
37. Cf. Kyrill-A Schwarz, Verfassungsrechtliche Aspekte der religiösen Beschneidung (Constitutional aspects of religious circumcision), 63 JZ 1125 (2008)
38. Kai Zähle, Religionsfreiheit und fremdschädigende Praktiken. Zu den Grenzen des forum externum (Freedom of religion and practices that do harm to others), 134 ARCHIV DES ÖFFENTLICHEN RECHTS (AöR) 434 (2009)
39. Michael Germann, Der menschliche Körper als Gegenstand der Religionsfreiheit (The human body as an object of religious freedom), in JURISPRUDENZ ZWISCHEN MEDIZIN UND KULTUR. FESTSCHRIFT ZUM 70. GEBURTSTAG VON GERFRIED FISCHER, 35 (Bernd-Rüdiger Kern & Hans Lilie eds., 2010)