Game Groups > Germany Criminal Code confiscations (§131: Excess Violence)

The highest instance in the German rating and censorship system are the courts. Writings (the term includes films, music and video games) can be considered to violate the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch, StGB). Whether a writing fulfills the criteria of the StGB is determined by a judge, who will examine the item in question once a petition is filed against it. If the judge comes to the conclusion that the writing violates StGB, he will issue a confiscation order.

The consequences of confiscation go beyond being listed on the BPjM's Index: it is illegal to sell the item (not only to minors, but to all adults), to own it with the intent of selling, to publicly present it and more. It is not illegal, however, to simply own it and use it in the privacy of one's home. Confiscated writings are automatically listed on the BPjM's index. While the BPjM cannot decide which games get confiscated, they can file a petition for it. They do this for writings which they consider a violation of StGB (they enter those into "List B" of the Index). The judge examining the case may or may not agree with the BPjM. If he does not, the writing is usually transferred to "List A".

This group includes games that have been confiscated according to section 131 of StGB, which criminalizes writings "which describe cruel or otherwise inhuman acts of violence against human or human-like beings in a manner which expresses a glorification or rendering harmless of such acts of violence or which represents the cruel or inhuman aspects of the event in a manner which injures human dignity".

Note: This group is a subset of the BPjS / BPjM indexed games group.