The punishment ground of complicity in the stricter sense, with special regard to aiding and abetting

Abstract

In this paper, the seven most important opinions about the punishment ground of complicity in the stricter sense, with special regard to aiding and abetting, have been presented and critically assessed. This involved the following doctrines: The Theory of Participation in the Guilt, the Theory of Participation in the Wrong, Solidarity as Punishment Ground, the Pure Theory of Causation, the Accessoriness-Oriented Theory of Causation, the Theory of the Accessory Attack on the Legal Good, and the Intensification-Principle. Lastly, additional criticism, beyond the officially acknowledged critical voices, has been expressed. It was concluded that the least controversial and at the same time the theory closest to the legal text, therefore the most acceptable one is that of the Accessory Attack on the Legal Good.

Keywords

• theories on punishment grounds
• complicity in the stricter sense
• corruption theories
• solidarity
• theories of causation
• accessoriness
• intensification