On 4 May 2020, the Duisburg Regional Court ("Landgericht") terminated the criminal trial concerning the disaster at the 2010 German Love Parade, which caused the deaths of 21 people from suffocation (for background information see Fair Trials Short Update of 8 April 2020 and Fair Trials Short Update of 28 April 2020). One of the most elaborate criminal proceedings in Germany thus ends after 184 trial days without a judgment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the proceedings had been suspended since mid-March 2020. The court proposed to terminate the proceedings because it was threatened by the statute of limitations. The public prosecutor and also the defendants agreed to a premature termination. Family members of the victims, as joint plaintiffs, spoke out against a termination. However, their consent was not legally required. The court's order to terminate the proceedings is unappealable (see Legal Tribune Online press article dated 4 May 2020 in German). 

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