Suspension of prison sentence execution due to disproportionate harm from minimal remaining term

The German Federal Constitutional Court’s Second Senate, First Chamber, ordered the repetition of a previous interim injunction for a period of six months, capping it at the decision on the underlying constitutional complaint, thereby upholding the suspension of the execution of a custodial sentence and effectively allowing the complainant to prevail in the interim. The dispute involved a constitutional complaint challenging the imminent execution of a remaining prison sentence, with the court focusing on the balance of interests given the extremely low residual amount of the sentence. The decision relied on the procedural power to issue interim relief under Article 93(2) of the Basic Law and the substantive doctrine that the severe personal disadvantages associated with incarceration must outweigh the public interest in execution when the remaining sentence is minimal.