Judicial review of § 184b StGB dismissed due to withdrawal of the reference application

The German Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) dismissed the constitutional complaint and ordered the proceedings be dismissed (einstellt) upon the withdrawal of the reference request by the originating lower court, meaning the constitutional review was not conducted on the merits and no final determination on the constitutionality of the challenged statute was made. The case involved a reference for judicial review under § 100 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (GVG) concerning the constitutionality of § 184b of the Criminal Code (StGB), which criminalizes the sexual exploitation of children in media. The decisive procedural basis for the dismissal was the applicant’s voluntary withdrawal of the application, which renders the constitutional court’s jurisdiction moot, as established in the Court’s precedent from 21 November 2017 (2 BvF 1/13).