In light of the current developments in criminal policy, the legislator amended the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) in 1999 by adding Section 155a as a 'procedural fundamental norm for the application of the TOA in criminal proceedings.' Through a dogmatic examination of the potential issues and the development of respective solutions that integrate into the overall structure of criminal procedural law, this work investigates how this amendment will affect the StPO and aims to provide guidance on dealing with the TOA in criminal procedural practice. Special attention is given to the question of whether the TOA must be considered in the future as a new procedural principle of the StPO. This question is particularly prompted by the wording of Section 155a StPO, which demands the consideration of the possibility of the TOA at 'every' stage of the proceedings.