Falsification of Corona vaccination certificates

23th January 2023

Author/s:
Attorney-at-law and tax consultant Dr. Dr. Bernd Josef Fehn

The accused issued against payment 19 incorrect #vaccination certificates, which he provided with entries about allegedly carried out first and second #vaccinations against the #SARS-CoV-2 virus (#Corona virus) together with #vaccine designation and batch number, the alleged stamp of a #vaccination center and the imitated or invented signature of an alleged #vaccinator in #vaccination passports provided by him or already issued. He was aware that his customers would present the certificates to third parties, such as #pharmacies for the creation of a digital #vaccination certificate or in #restaurants for proof of alleged #vaccinations of their person.

Section 277 Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch - StGB) in the version applicable before 11/24/2021 was applied. It reads:

"Whoever, under the designation to which he is not entitled as a #physician or as another licensed #medical person or unauthorizedly under the name of such persons, issues a certificate about his or another's #health condition or falsifies such a genuine certificate and makes use of it to deceive #authorities or #insurance companies, shall be punished with #imprisonment for up to one year or with #fines."

(emphasis only here)

Since section 277 StGB (old version), according to the current ruling of 11/10/2022 - 5 StR 283/22 - and contrary to the opinion of parts of the higher court #jurisdiction, just does not privilege the #perpetrator of the #falsification of #health certificates in relation to the #felon of a #falsification of documents (section 267 StGB), the Federal Court of Justice (#BGH) has overturned the partial #acquittal of the Regional Court of First Instance responsible and referred the case back for a new hearing and decision. Neither the purpose nor the systematic connection of the competing regulations nor the intention of the #legislator provide any indications for a #privilege. A fortiori, section 277 StGB (old version) will not have a "blocking effect" compared to the #forgery of documents (section 267 StGB), if the facts of the #forgery of #health certificates - as here - are not fulfilled (completely).

The accused issued a certificate about another person‘s #health condition under the designation as a #vaccinarian not entitled to him or unauthorized under the name of such a #vaccinarian or falsified such a genuine certificate. However, he apparently did not make use of it for the deception of #authorities or #insurance companies.

The #BGH has now cleared the way for a possible #conviction for #falsification of documents.