Referral on conflict of jurisprudence: compatibility of criminal sentencing principles with established First Criminal Senate precedent

The Federal Court of Justice (First Criminal Senate) ruled that the intended decision by the Fifth Criminal Senate did not conflict with the established jurisprudence of the First Criminal Senate, thereby clearing the procedural hurdle for the case to proceed to the full criminal senate. The dispute arose from a reference by the Fifth Criminal Senate concerning the consistent application of legal principles, specifically regarding whether prior rulings by the First Criminal Senate precluded the planned adjudication. The decisive legal basis was the institutional competence and binding force of the First Criminal Senate's case law within the Federal Court of Justice's criminal division, confirming that no contradictory precedent existed to impede the requested decision.