Just because murder is a crime, to use an analogy, does not mean that “crime” is in some way lessened by the fact it also describes assault…

Indeed. Warhawks now see anything short of Auschwitz as acceptable and normal conduct of war.

A few minor crimes are classified as Antragsdelikte, i.e., the prosecutor proceeeds only if the victim swears out a complaint. For other crimes, the prosecutor is bound by the ‘principle of legality’, i.e., it is obligated to commence an investigation of any punishable, prosecutable act brought to its attention. Formally speaking, then, the prosecutor’s office would be obligated to investigate charges of war crimes (which, as you might imagine, are taken rather seriously in modern Germany).

However, the legality principle is not absolute. It is balanced by the ‘principle of opportunity’, which does in fact grant prosectors a measure of discretion (in some cases, a very wide discretion). This second principle permits the prosecutor to end (einstellen) the investigation more or less immediately. This probably happens most often in cases where the violation of law, even if proven, would in any event be de minimis. However, a quick glance at the code of criminal procedure (Strafprozessordnung) shows that there are least three escape hatches for the prosecutor in this case. First, a prosecutor may elect not to prosecute a crime committed outside German territory. Second, the office of the chief federal prosecutor may elect not to prosecute certain crimes (and those of which Rumsfeld et al. are likely to be accused could arguably fall among them) if prosecution would cause severe harm to the republic or would otherwise oppose an important public interest. Finally, the prosecutor may elect not to prosecute crimes under Germany’s international criminal code (V?lkerstrafgesetzbuch), which include genocide and war crimes, if the accused is not in Germany and it is not to be expected that he or she will come to reside in Germany. (The rules are stricter if the accused is a German. In that case the prosectuor may drop the case only if the accused is already before an international court or a court in the country where the act took place or whose citizens were the victims.)

In short, while the prosecutor must open a file on these charges, it can almost certainly very quickly close that file and lay it, as German lawyers love to say, ad acta.

But it would be good if Schr?der could be kept from another self-demolition in a theatrical attempt at practicising what he believes to be ‘realpolitik’ (for other examples see his Putin connection, or the plutonium factory for China issue).