JALLOH v. GERMANY JUDGMENT 9 39. According to many legal writers, Article 81a of the Code of Criminal Procedure authorises the administration of emetics to suspected drug dealers in order to obtain evidence (see also the authors cited above at paragraph 37). This view is taken, for example, by Rogall (NStZ 1998, pp. 66-68 and Systematischer Kommentar zur Strafprozeßordnung und zum Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz, München 2005, Article 81a StPO, § 48) and by Kleinknecht and Meyer-Goßner (StPO, 44th edition, Article 81a, § 22 – administration of emetics permitted for the investigation of serious offences). 40. A considerable number of legal writers, however, take the view that the Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 81a in particular, does not permit the administration of emetics. This opinion is held, for example, by Dallmeyer (StV 1997, pp. 606-10, and KritV 2000, pp. 252-59), who considers that Article 81a does not authorise a search – as opposed to an examination – of the interior of a defendant’s body. Vetter (Problemschwerpunkte des § 81a StPO – Eine Untersuchung am Beispiel der Brechmittelvergabe im strafrechtlichen Ermittlungsverfahren, Neuried 2000, pp. 72-82, 161) considers that the forcible administration of emetics through a nasogastric tube is irreconcilable with the rules of medical science, disproportionate and liable to damage the defendant’s health. (c) Medical expert opinions on the forced administration of emetics to suspected drug dealers 41. Medical experts disagree as to whether the forcible administration of emetics through the insertion of a nasogastric tube is advisable from a medical point of view. While some experts consider that emetics should be administered to a suspect in order to protect his health even if he resists such treatment, others take the view that such a measure entails serious health risks for the person concerned and should not therefore be carried out. 42. The medical experts who argue in favour of the forcible administration of emetics stress that even if this measure is not primarily carried out for medical reasons, it may nevertheless serve to prevent a possibly life-threatening intoxication. As the packaging of drugs swallowed on arrest is often unreliable, it is preferable from a medical standpoint for emetics to be administered. This measure poses very few risks, whereas there is a danger of death if the drugs are allowed to pass through the body naturally. Drugs can be extracted from the stomach up to one hour, in some cases two, after being swallowed. Administering emetics is a safe and fast method (the emetic usually takes effect within 15 to 30 minutes) of retrieving evidence of a drugs offence, as it is rare for them not to work. Even though the forcible introduction of a tube through the nose can cause pain, it does not pose any health risks as the act of swallowing can be induced by the mechanical stimulus of the tube in the throat (see, inter alia, Birkholz, Kropp, Bleich, Klatt and Ritter, “Exkorporation von