Tathergangs

Tathergang is a term used in criminal law and forensic contexts to describe the factual sequence of events that comprise a crime. It covers actions, times, locations, participants, and other relevant circumstances as they occurred and can be established by evidence. The plural form is Tathergänge and is used when describing more than one sequence or multiple accounts.

Authorities reconstruct the Tathergang from witness statements, physical and digital evidence, forensics, surveillance material, and expert analyses. The reconstruction aims to present a coherent, evidence-based narrative of how the offense happened while distinguishing what actually occurred from legal interpretations or judgments. It is a descriptive account, not a verdict.

In court, the Tathergang informs the assessment of liability and the evaluation of probative value of evidence. The defense may propose alternative Tathergänge or challenge parts of the sequence. Judges and prosecutors weigh credibility, consistency, and completeness, and may consider uncertainties or conflicting accounts when applying the law.

Tathergang is distinct from Tatbestand, which sets out the legally defined elements of the offense, and from Beweismittel and the Beweiswürdigung, which concern evidence and its evaluation. The term is widely used in German-language criminal procedure and related forensic literature.