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The German Court Structure |
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 Articles 92-96 of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz) deal with the court structure in Germany.
As a Federal Republic, Germany’s courts are divided between the
Federation (Bund) and the States (Länder). On the federal level there
is a supreme court for each of the five major jurisdictions, in
addition to the Federal Constitutional Court. Other than a few other
courts (such as military tribunals and the Federal Patent Court) named
specifically in the Constitution, these are the only Federal Courts
permitted - to set up another would require a constitutional amendment.
All other courts are therefore courts of the Länder.The five major
jurisdictions are:-
* ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit
* Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit
* Arbeitsgerichtsbarkeit
* Sozialgerichtsbarkeit
* Finanzgerichtsbarkeit
Alongside these jurisdictions is the Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit.
Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit
The Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit is the constitutional jurisdiction,
consisting of the Federal Constitutional Court
(Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG - see separate introduction to its
role, also on this server) and the State Constitutional Courts
(Landesverfassungsgerichte, LVerfG). The Landesverfassungsgerichte are
not in the same hierarchical structure as the Bundesverfassungsgericht,
but rather each is a court of first and last instance in its own
hierarchy. Thus the BVerfG has exclusive jurisdiction over issues
relating to the Federal Constitution (Grundgesetz), and each LVerfG has
exclusive jurisdiction over its State Constitution (Landesverfassung).
Interestingly, it is not a duty, but rather a right for each Land to
set up a LVerfG, if it chooses to. Thus not all Länder originally
established one, and some have exercised the right more flexibly to set
up a Staatsgerichtshof (StGH) rather than a Landesverfassungsgericht,
which acts as a supreme court of general jurisdiction in the Land, and
is not restricted to constitutional disputes.
ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit
The ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit, literally translated, is the ‘ordinary
jurisdiction’, but is in reality two jurisdictions: civil
(Zivilgerichtsbarkeit) and criminal (Strafgerichtsbarkeit).
Historically the civil and criminal courts were grouped together under
the 'ordinary jurisdiction', because they were the only ones in which
qualified judges sat; state officials fulfilled the judicial function
in the specialist courts (below). This distinction is a little dated,
since qualified judges now sit in all the courts.
The ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit is by far the largest jurisdiction,
with figures from 1985 indicating that, of the total of 17,000 judges
in Germany, approximately 13,000 were in this jurisdiction. The courts
in the jurisdiction, in descending order of seniority, are the
Bundesgerichtshof (BGH), Oberlandesgerichte (OLG), Landesgerichte (LG)
and Amtsgerichte (AG). Each court has a civil chamber (Zivilkammer) and
a criminal chamber (Strafkammer).
* Zivilgerichtsbarkeit - the civil jurisdiction is general, including
all civil and commercial law. This excludes those areas which are
within the specialist jurisdictions.
* Strafgerichtsbarkeit - the criminal jurisdiction.
Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit
The Verwaltungsgerichtbarkeit is the general administrative
jurisdiction, covering all public law disputes of a non-constitutional
nature.
Arbeitsgerichtsbarkeit
The Arbeitsgerichtsbarkeit is the employment law jurisdiction, and includes trade union disputes.
Sozialgerichtsbarkeit
The Sozialgerichtsbarkeit is the 'social' jurisdiction, covering public
law disputes relating to state welfare payments and the like.
Finanzgerichsbarkeit
The Finanzgerichtsbarkeit is the fiscal jurisdiction, taking in public law disputes relating to taxation.
 David Thorneloe
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