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New publication by Dr Thomas Pillichshammer

Criminalisation of conduct in the run-up to a criminal offence with special consideration of terrorist financing under § 278d StGB.

Dr. Thomas Pillichshammer on the pre-displacement of criminal liability - how far may criminal legislation go?

Pre-displacement of criminal liability is a broad concept and not new to criminal law. Nevertheless, especially the recent development of the criminal justice system - not only in Austria – is characterised by an increased creation of so-called preparatory offences. The admissibility and limits of this group of offences are still being discussed with controversy. Since the terrorist attack in Vienna on November 2, 2020, this field of criminal law has become even more relevant.

The work focuses on the examination of which requirements are to be placed on offences that already penalise behaviour in the - in principle unpunishable - run-up to a criminal offence. Based on the general standards that the legislator has to observe when creating penal provisions, criteria that deserve additional special attention when penalising preparatory acts are outlined. The question as to whether terrorist financing under section 278d of the Criminal Code meets the standard established for the dogmatic permissibility of this category of offence is particularly addressed in this publication.