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StGB § 235 — Entziehung Minderjähriger (verbatim)

Jurisdiction: Germany · Citation: Strafgesetzbuch § 235 · Authoritative source: gesetze-im-internet.de — § 235 StGB

The principal criminal-law provision on child abduction in Germany. StGB § 235 criminalises Entziehung Minderjähriger — the wrongful removal or withholding of a child from parents, guardians, or carers. In PA litigation, § 235 is the criminal-law counterpart to the civil-law Herausgabeanspruch under BGB § 1632 (1): where alienating conduct extends to wrongful removal or retention of the child — particularly cross-border — the criminal-law route becomes available alongside Hague 1980 return proceedings.

§ 235 StGB is doctrinally significant in PA litigation for three reasons: 1. It provides criminal-law consequences for the most-severe alienating conduct (wrongful removal/retention) 2. It includes specific aggravation for cross-border abduction (Absatz 2) — relevant to cross-border PA cases involving wrongful removal to a third State 3. It interacts structurally with Hague 1980 return proceedings — see cross-border PA comparative

Verbatim text (current consolidated)

§ 235 StGB — Entziehung Minderjähriger

(1) Mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu fünf Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe wird bestraft, wer

  1. eine Person unter achtzehn Jahren mit Gewalt, durch Drohung mit einem empfindlichen Übel oder durch List oder

  2. ein Kind, ohne dessen Angehöriger zu sein,

den Eltern, einem Elternteil, dem Vormund oder dem Pfleger entzieht oder vorenthält.

(2) Ebenso wird bestraft, wer ein Kind den Eltern, einem Elternteil, dem Vormund oder dem Pfleger

  1. entzieht, um es in das Ausland zu verbringen, oder

  2. im Ausland vorenthält, nachdem es dorthin verbracht worden ist oder es sich dorthin begeben hat.

(3) In den Fällen des Absatzes 1 Nr. 2 und des Absatzes 2 Nr. 1 ist der Versuch strafbar.

(4) Auf Freiheitsstrafe von einem Jahr bis zu zehn Jahren ist zu erkennen, wenn der Täter

  1. das Opfer durch die Tat in die Gefahr des Todes oder einer schweren Gesundheitsschädigung oder einer erheblichen Schädigung der körperlichen oder seelischen Entwicklung bringt oder

  2. die Tat gegen Entgelt oder in der Absicht begeht, sich oder einen Dritten zu bereichern.

(5) Verursacht der Täter durch die Tat den Tod des Opfers, so ist die Strafe Freiheitsstrafe nicht unter drei Jahren.

(6) In minder schweren Fällen des Absatzes 4 ist auf Freiheitsstrafe von sechs Monaten bis zu fünf Jahren, in minder schweren Fällen des Absatzes 5 auf Freiheitsstrafe von einem Jahr bis zu zehn Jahren zu erkennen.

(7) Die Entziehung Minderjähriger wird in den Fällen der Absätze 1 bis 3 nur auf Antrag verfolgt, es sei denn, daß die Strafverfolgungsbehörde wegen des besonderen öffentlichen Interesses an der Strafverfolgung ein Einschreiten von Amts wegen für geboten hält.

English working translation

§ 235 StGB — Removal of minors

(1) Whoever

  1. removes or withholds a person under eighteen years of age by force, threat of substantial harm, or deception, or

  2. removes or withholds a child, not being a member of the child's family,

from the parents, one of the parents, the guardian, or the carer, is liable to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine.

(2) Equally liable is whoever

  1. removes a child from the parents, one of the parents, the guardian, or the carer in order to bring the child abroad, or

  2. withholds a child abroad after having brought the child there or after the child has gone there.

(3) In the cases of paragraph 1 number 2 and paragraph 2 number 1, the attempt is punishable.

(4) Imprisonment of one to ten years is to be imposed where the offender

  1. by the offence brings the victim into danger of death or serious damage to health or substantial damage to physical or mental development, or

  2. commits the offence for payment or with the intent to enrich himself or a third party.

(5) Where the offender causes the death of the victim by the offence, the punishment is imprisonment of not less than three years.

(6) In less-serious cases under paragraph 4, imprisonment of six months to five years; in less-serious cases under paragraph 5, imprisonment of one to ten years.

(7) Removal of minors under paragraphs 1 to 3 is prosecuted only on application, unless the prosecuting authority considers, having regard to the particular public interest in prosecution, that intervention of its own motion is required.

Why this matters for PA

  • Absatz 1 Nr. 2 — the parental-conduct route. This is the doctrinally relevant subsection for most PA-pattern cases. Ein Kind, ohne dessen Angehöriger zu sein — being a child, where the perpetrator is not the child's family member — withdraws or withholds from a parent. In the typical PA-pattern case the alienating parent is the family member, so Nr. 2 does not directly apply to the alienating parent themselves. However, where the alienating parent's new partner (non-family-member) wrongfully retains the child against the targeted parent's right, Nr. 2 applies to the new partner.
  • Absatz 1 Nr. 1 — the force/deception route. Where the wrongful removal occurs mit Gewalt, durch Drohung (by force or threat) oder durch List (or by deception), Nr. 1 applies. This is doctrinally important in extreme PA-pattern cases where the alienating parent uses deceit (e.g. removing the child during contact under pretext) — the deception can engage Nr. 1.
  • Absatz 2 — the cross-border aggravation. Um es in das Ausland zu verbringen (in order to bring abroad) and im Ausland vorenthält (withholds abroad) are both criminalised, regardless of whether perpetrator is family-member. This is the structural response to international parental abduction — see cross-border PA comparative. The targeted parent in cross-border PA cases involving Germany has both Hague 1980 civil-return application and § 235 (2) criminal proceedings available.
  • Absatz 4 Nr. 1 — qualified aggravation. Where the offence brings the victim into Gefahr des Todes oder einer schweren Gesundheitsschädigung oder einer erheblichen Schädigung der körperlichen oder seelischen Entwicklung — including substantial damage to mental development — the penalty range is increased to 1-10 years. The mental-development clause is doctrinally significant: sustained PA-pattern wrongful retention causing psychological harm to the child can engage Absatz 4 Nr. 1.
  • Absatz 7 — Antragsdelikt (offence prosecuted only on application). Wird nur auf Antrag verfolgt — § 235 Absätze 1-3 are prosecuted only on application (typically by the targeted parent), unless the prosecuting authority finds besonderes öffentliches Interesse (particular public interest). This is procedural protection against criminal prosecution being initiated by third parties; the targeted parent controls whether criminal proceedings are pursued.

Procedural application

  • The targeted parent files the criminal complaint (Strafanzeige + Strafantrag) with the Staatsanwaltschaft (public prosecutor)
  • The Staatsanwaltschaft conducts the criminal investigation
  • Where the offender is located, Untersuchungshaft (pre-trial detention) may be ordered
  • Cross-border cases under Absatz 2 frequently involve European Arrest Warrant (EAW) proceedings
  • Criminal proceedings run in parallel with civil family proceedings under BGB § 1632 (1) Herausgabeanspruch and Hague 1980 return application

Use in alienating-conduct cases

  • The principal application is at the extreme end of the PA spectrum: cases involving wrongful removal or retention with deceptive or coercive conduct
  • The cross-border aggravation under Absatz 2 is operationally important in international PA cases
  • The Absatz 4 Nr. 1 mental-development clause is doctrinally distinctive: it provides criminal-law recognition of the psychological harm of sustained wrongful retention
  • The Antragsdelikt structure under Absatz 7 gives the targeted parent procedural control — criminal proceedings are not initiated without the targeted parent's application unless particular public interest is present

Cross-reference

Sources & authoritative references

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