English Translation

Copy of Rk. l18l2 D Der Reichsminister der Justis Berlin W 8, den 21, October 1943 4253 - IV a 1544.43 Wilhelmstraße 65 To the Reich Minister and Chief of the Reich Chancellery Herrn Dr.Lammers Subject: Exercise of the right of grace in criminal matters from the Protectorate. To the letter of 8 October 1943 - Rk: 10744 D -. Very venerable Dr. Lammers! I cannot fully agree with the proposed regulation. To 1): In order to achieve a uniform practice of grace in the whole Reich, it would be more correct to provide for my participation in all criminal cases against Germans. However, such a hearing must lead to a considerable burden on the course of business and to unwanted delays in the procedure. For the duration of the war, therefore, I would like to renounce participation in this respect. I assume, of course, that before deciding on fundamental questions, which must be solved uniformly for the whole Reich region, the Reich Protector brings my opinion. 2): The People's Court and the Higher Regional Courts in its place are under my supervision. Especially in the war, they have the most important tasks to perform, which can only be solved if the jurisdiction of these courts is aligned and directed according to one point of view. This includes a uniform practice of grace. I must therefore, under all circumstances, maintain that the right of grace in these matters is exercised by me as the body which directs the above-mentioned courts and their jurisdiction. Crimes committed in the Protectorate cannot be excluded from this. For the exercise of the right to grace, the seat of the judgmental court, not the scene of the crime, is decisive. It has therefore never been proven that I am entitled to the grace decision on foreign crimes punishable by German courts.