Mitigation of compensation for pain and suffering: alignment with civil law standards on considering offender's personal and economic circumstances

The 4th Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) issued a ruling in which it overruled its own previous, broader jurisprudence and adopted the legal view established by the Grand Senate for Civil Matters. Consequently, the court clarified that when determining the quantum of compensation for pain and suffering (Schmerzensgeld) in the context of sentencing mitigation (Zumessung), the personal and economic circumstances of the offender must be considered in line with the standards set by the civil law Grand Senate decisions of July 6, 1955, and October 12, 2015. The decision explicitly disregards the 4th Senate's earlier, more expansive interpretations from 1996 and 2014, thereby establishing that the subjective aggravating factors of the offender are not to be weighed in a manner that contradicts the civil law principles governing such non-pecuniary damages.