131-527: The Federal Court of Justice ( German : Bundesgerichtshof pronounced [ˌbʊndəsɡəˈʁɪçt͡shoːf] , BGH ) is the highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction in Germany . Its primary responsibility is the final appellate review of decisions by lower courts for errors of law. While, legally, a decision by the Federal Court of Justice is only binding with respect to
262-465: A de facto official language of Namibia after the end of German colonial rule alongside English and Afrikaans , and had de jure co-official status from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. However, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols of apartheid and colonialism, and decided English would be the sole official language upon independence, stating that it
393-402: A second language , and 75–100 million as a foreign language . This would imply the existence of approximately 175–220 million German speakers worldwide. German sociolinguist Ulrich Ammon estimated a number of 289 million German foreign language speakers without clarifying the criteria by which he classified a speaker. As of 2012 , about 90 million people, or 16% of
524-612: A "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it. Cameroon was also a colony of the German Empire from the same period (1884 to 1916). However, German was replaced by French and English, the languages of the two successor colonial powers, after its loss in World War I . Nevertheless, since the 21st century, German has become
655-443: A common danger or emergency" if necessary, as far as can be expected ("under the circumstances, particularly if it is possible without substantial danger to himself and without violation of other important duties"). Refusing to assist can be punished with up to one year of imprisonment. As a consequence, should an attempt at first aid prove unsuccessful or actually harmful, it will not be prosecuted ( Good Samaritan law ). Note that while
786-754: A criminal and a civil division, the dispute must be resolved by the Joint Grand Panels ( Vereinigte Große Senate ), which consists of all the members of the Civil and the Criminal Grand Panel. If any division of the Federal Court of Justice intends to deviate from a decision by one or more divisions of any other German supreme court (i.e. the Federal Administrative Court, the Federal Fiscal Court,
917-573: A criminal division based in Berlin, 500 kilometres north-east of Karlsruhe. The steep increase in judgeships in the first years of the court's existence was in part the result of a higher-than-expected workload of the court, and in part the result of legislative changes that broadened the court's scope of responsibility. At the same time, the Reichsgericht's practice of employing assistant judges ( Hilfsrichter ) had been outlawed. Only in 1995,
1048-636: A criminal investigation. The jurisdiction of the investigating judges of the Federal Court of Justice is limited to investigations for a small subset of crimes, such as war crimes , crimes against humanity , high treason and the formation of terrorist organisations , where the Public Prosecutor General ( Generalbundesanwalt ) leads the investigation. The Public Prosecutor General may also take over an investigation of various more ordinary offenses (including murder, manslaughter and abduction) under certain circumstances (for instance where
1179-559: A greater need for regularity in written conventions. While the major changes of the MHG period were socio-cultural, High German was still undergoing significant linguistic changes in syntax, phonetics, and morphology as well (e.g. diphthongization of certain vowel sounds: hus (OHG & MHG "house") → haus (regionally in later MHG)→ Haus (NHG), and weakening of unstressed short vowels to schwa [ə]: taga (OHG "days")→ tage (MHG)). A great wealth of texts survives from
1310-749: A helicopter landing pad for defendants being flown in. The Court has two branch offices, such as the Villa Reiss in the Gartenstrasse and a former Bundeswehr barracks in the Rintheimer Strasse, Karlsruhe. Since July 1997, the 5th Criminal Panel, and since February 2020, the 6th Criminal Panel have been housed at Villa Sack in Leipzig, Karl-Heine-Strasse . Judges must meet the personal requirements for lifetime judicial appointments; in particular, they must be German citizens and must have
1441-516: A high degree of specialisation of the individual divisions. Criminal cases, on the other hand, are assigned to a criminal division based primarily on the origin of the case, with each division handling the appeals from a certain subset of court districts. For instance, criminal appeals from courts in Berlin are always decided by the Fifth Criminal Division. A few exceptions to this location-based assignment exist; for example, one of
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#17327659744681572-458: A native tongue today, mostly descendants of German colonial settlers . The period of German colonialism in Namibia also led to the evolution of a Standard German-based pidgin language called " Namibian Black German ", which became a second language for parts of the indigenous population. Although it is nearly extinct today, some older Namibians still have some knowledge of it. German remained
1703-696: A popular foreign language among pupils and students, with 300,000 people learning or speaking German in Cameroon in 2010 and over 230,000 in 2020. Today Cameroon is one of the African countries outside Namibia with the highest number of people learning German. In the United States, German is the fifth most spoken language in terms of native and second language speakers after English, Spanish , French , and Chinese (with figures for Cantonese and Mandarin combined), with over 1 million total speakers. In
1834-460: A request to those divisions ( Divergenzvorlage ), asking them whether they stand by their prior decision(s). If any of the divisions do, and if the requesting panel still intends to deviate, it must refer the issue to a Grand Panel. In cases of disagreement between civil divisions, the ultimate arbiter is the Grand Panel for Civil Matters ( Großer Senat für Zivilsachen ), a special panel of
1965-483: A result, the surviving texts are written in highly disparate regional dialects and exhibit significant Latin influence, particularly in vocabulary. At this point monasteries, where most written works were produced, were dominated by Latin, and German saw only occasional use in official and ecclesiastical writing. While there is no complete agreement over the dates of the Middle High German (MHG) period, it
2096-465: A right to initiate an appeal to the Federal Court of Justice, although their ability to appeal is somewhat more limited. As in civil matters, appeals on points of law in criminal matters may allege procedural defects or an incorrect understanding of the law that led to the trial court's decision, and—again as in civil cases—the Federal Court of Justice itself does not receive additional evidence, nor does it hear witnesses. Instead, it conducts its review of
2227-572: A typical civil case in Germany, the losing party in the court of first instance can appeal to a court of second instance if the subject matter of the appeal is greater than 600 euros or the court of first instance expressly allowed the appeal. Such an appeal ( Berufung ) can be both on points of fact and on points of law, and it prompts the appellate court to re-hear the entire matter (that is, it (re-)hears witnesses, including potential new witnesses, and re-tries material issues of fact). In some cases,
2358-510: A waiting period, and in rare exceptional cases afterwards. After this compromise was found, there has been relatively little further controversy about the section. Paragraph 219a forbade medical professionals from providing information about any abortion services they offered. The law was enacted in 1933, months after the Nazi party had come to power. It was repealed in 2022. This section requires everybody to "render assistance during accidents or
2489-466: A war of aggression (§ 80), murder, robbery, treason, and counterfeiting money. This section formed the grounds for the lawsuit against Holger Voss . This section, which was in force in some form or other from 1871 to 1994, criminalized sexual acts between males under circumstances that varied as the law was modified over the years. Acts between consenting adults, if not done in the context of prostitution, were excluded from prosecution in 1969. Until 1969
2620-663: Is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family , mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe . It is the most spoken native language within the European Union . It is the most widely spoken and official (or co-official) language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , Liechtenstein , and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol . It is also an official language of Luxembourg , Belgium and
2751-601: Is a recognized minority language in the following countries: In France, the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as " regional languages ", but the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 has not yet been ratified by the government. Namibia also was a colony of the German Empire, from 1884 to 1915. About 30,000 people still speak German as
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#17327659744682882-612: Is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects , with many varieties existing in Europe and other parts of the world. Some of these non-standard varieties have become recognized and protected by regional or national governments. Since 2004, heads of state of the German-speaking countries have met every year, and the Council for German Orthography has been the main international body regulating German orthography . German
3013-558: Is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages . The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: North Germanic , East Germanic , and West Germanic . The first of these branches survives in modern Danish , Swedish , Norwegian , Faroese , and Icelandic , all of which are descended from Old Norse . The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and Gothic
3144-478: Is called the "German Sprachraum ". German is the official language of the following countries: German is a co-official language of the following countries: Although expulsions and (forced) assimilation after the two World wars greatly diminished them, minority communities of mostly bilingual German native speakers exist in areas both adjacent to and detached from the Sprachraum. Within Europe, German
3275-430: Is complicated by the existence of several varieties whose status as separate "languages" or "dialects" is disputed for political and linguistic reasons, including quantitatively strong varieties like certain forms of Alemannic and Low German . With the inclusion or exclusion of certain varieties, it is estimated that approximately 90–95 million people speak German as a first language , 10–25 million speak it as
3406-417: Is divided into two main parts: General Part ( Allgemeiner Teil ): in which general issues are arranged, for example: Special Part ( Besonderer Teil ): in which the different criminal offences and their definitions and punishments are listed, for example: These sections differ significantly from the criminal codes in other countries, and/or are relevant for topics discussed in other articles. Outlaws
3537-535: Is generally seen as ending when the 1346–53 Black Death decimated Europe's population. Modern High German begins with the Early New High German (ENHG) period, which Wilhelm Scherer dates 1350–1650, terminating with the end of the Thirty Years' War . This period saw the further displacement of Latin by German as the primary language of courtly proceedings and, increasingly, of literature in
3668-611: Is generally seen as lasting from 1050 to 1350. This was a period of significant expansion of the geographical territory occupied by Germanic tribes, and consequently of the number of German speakers. Whereas during the Old High German period the Germanic tribes extended only as far east as the Elbe and Saale rivers, the MHG period saw a number of these tribes expanding beyond this eastern boundary into Slavic territory (known as
3799-410: Is held. To the extent the appeal on points of law is deemed justified, the Federal Court of Justice vacates the contested judgement and sends the matter back to the regional or higher regional court, respectively. In general, vacating a judgement does not mean setting aside the trial court's factual findings. However, the Federal Court of Justice quashes factual findings insofar as they are affected by
3930-565: Is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern Denmark ), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are
4061-418: Is often applied to trials related to Holocaust denial . Outlaws the dissemination or public display of media "which describe cruel or otherwise inhuman acts of violence against human or humanoid beings in a manner which expresses a glorification or rendering harmless of such acts of violence or which represents the cruel or inhuman aspects of the event in a manner which injures human dignity ". This section
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4192-435: Is one of the major languages of the world . German is the second-most widely spoken Germanic language , after English, both as a first and as a second language . German is also widely taught as a foreign language , especially in continental Europe (where it is the third most taught foreign language after English and French), and in the United States. Overall, German is the fourth most commonly learned second language, and
4323-597: Is one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa. An estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa, mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. One of the largest communities consists of the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German concentrated in and around Wartburg . The South African constitution identifies German as
4454-401: Is partly derived from Latin and Greek , along with fewer words borrowed from French and Modern English . English, however, is the main source of more recent loanwords . German is a pluricentric language ; the three standardized variants are German , Austrian , and Swiss Standard German . Standard German is sometimes called High German , which refers to its regional origin. German
4585-424: Is possible certain convicts of murder can spend the rest of their lives in prison). Regulating abortion, in combination with § 218a. Revised several times, with a 1974 liberalization declared unconstitutional by the courts, and historically very controversial. After a multi-partisan compromise was reached during the early 1990s, it permits abortion during the first trimester, upon condition of mandatory counseling and
4716-515: Is quite vague, there is a lot of debate how this new prohibition is to be handled in court, since software essential to system or network security might be seen to fall under this act as well. Too extensive an interpretation will surely collide with the freedom of exercise of occupation as well as the right to property (Articles 12 and 14 of the Basic Law). In German: Mord . The intentional, successful killing of another person, with at least one of
4847-486: Is required to appeal. An appeal can be brought by the defendant or the public prosecutor's office . In some trials, the public prosecutor is joined by one or more private accessory prosecutors ( Nebenkläger ), which is a role that can be assumed by the victims of a number of serious offenses such as murder or sexual abuse, or by individuals whose children, parents, siblings, spouses or life partners were killed through an unlawful act. Private accessory prosecutors also have
4978-448: Is split. Cases are never decided by all the members of a division but, in general, by a panel of five judges ( Spruchgruppe ). In addition, there are eight special divisions ( Spezialsenate ), which have specific responsibilities and are made up of judges from the civil and criminal divisions; some of those divisions also include appointed volunteers with specific expertise relevant to the division's specialisation. The lion's share of
5109-525: Is the Sachsenspiegel , the first book of laws written in Middle Low German ( c. 1220 ). The abundance and especially the secular character of the literature of the MHG period demonstrate the beginnings of a standardized written form of German, as well as the desire of poets and authors to be understood by individuals on supra-dialectal terms. The Middle High German period
5240-639: Is the only 'special' admission within the German court system; ordinarily in Germany, an attorney admitted to the bar may practice before any court. Conversely, within the German court system an attorney at the Federal Court of Justice is only allowed to practice before the Federal Court of Justice, other federal courts of last instance, the Joint Senate of the Supreme Courts of the Federation and
5371-578: Is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, Dutch , Yiddish , Afrikaans , and others. Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the Benrath and Uerdingen lines (running through Düsseldorf - Benrath and Krefeld - Uerdingen , respectively) serve to distinguish
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5502-485: Is understood in all areas where German is spoken. Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide: As a result of the German diaspora , as well as the popularity of German taught as a foreign language , the geographical distribution of German speakers (or "Germanophones") spans all inhabited continents. However, an exact, global number of native German speakers
5633-689: The Ostsiedlung ). With the increasing wealth and geographic spread of the Germanic groups came greater use of German in the courts of nobles as the standard language of official proceedings and literature. A clear example of this is the mittelhochdeutsche Dichtersprache employed in the Hohenstaufen court in Swabia as a standardized supra-dialectal written language. While these efforts were still regionally bound, German began to be used in place of Latin for certain official purposes, leading to
5764-565: The Bundestag usually appoints some of its own members (and occasionally former members) to the committee. Nominations for new judicial appointments can be made by the Federal Minister of Justice or members of the electoral committee. The electoral committee's meetings are non-public and the committee's vote is done by secret ballot . To be elected, a candidate needs a simple majority of the votes. Elected candidates are appointed by
5895-575: The Reichsgericht enjoyed far broader supreme appellate jurisdiction than its predecessors, encompassing all civil and criminal matters arising in the Empire. The enactment of a unified Imperial Penal Code in 1872 added to the significance of the court. In the wake of Germany's defeat in World War II , the Reichsgericht , like all German courts, was closed, and its administration subsequently dismantled, by proclamation of General Eisenhower of
6026-495: The Grundgesetz , but also to scientific and technical reforms. Examples of such new crimes are money laundering or computer sabotage . The Penal Code is a codification of criminal law and the pivotal legal text, while supplementary laws contain provisions affecting criminal law, such as definitions of new types of crime and law enforcement action. The StGB constitutes the legal basis of criminal law in Germany. After
6157-639: The Alamanni , Bavarian, and Thuringian groups, all belonging to the Elbe Germanic group ( Irminones ), which had settled in what is now southern-central Germany and Austria between the second and sixth centuries, during the great migration. In general, the surviving texts of Old High German (OHG) show a wide range of dialectal diversity with very little written uniformity. The early written tradition of OHG survived mostly through monasteries and scriptoria as local translations of Latin originals; as
6288-733: The Bizonal Economic Council by the British and the Americans also led to the establishment of a German High Court for the Combined Economic Area ( Deutsches Obergericht für das Vereinigte Wirtschaftsgebiet ) with supreme appellate jurisdiction over matters of the public and private economic law created through Bizonal legislation. In May 1949, the Basic Law ( Grundgesetz ) was enacted, establishing
6419-537: The Early Middle Ages . German is an inflected language , with four cases for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative); three genders (masculine, feminine, neuter) and two numbers (singular, plural). It has strong and weak verbs . The majority of its vocabulary derives from the ancient Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, while a smaller share
6550-417: The European Union 's population, spoke German as their mother tongue, making it the second most widely spoken language on the continent after Russian and the second biggest language in terms of overall speakers (after English), as well as the most spoken native language. The area in central Europe where the majority of the population speaks German as a first language and has German as a (co-)official language
6681-824: The Federal Administrative Court (for administrative matters), the Federal Fiscal Court (for tax matters), the Federal Labor Court (for matters of labour law), and the Federal Social Court (for social security matters). The seat of the Federal Court of Justice is in Karlsruhe , Baden-Württemberg . Two criminal divisions of the court are based in Leipzig , Saxony . The Reichskammergericht , which
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#17327659744686812-499: The Federal President of Germany ( Bundespräsident ). As of 2023, the Federal Court of Justice has 153 judges. The number of authorised judgeships at the Federal Court of Justice is set by the Bundestag as part of the annual Federal Budget Act. The federal government has a constitutional duty to ensure the adequate staffing of the Federal Court of Justice and its sister supreme courts. As judges for life, judges of
6943-522: The German states . While these states were still part of the Holy Roman Empire , and far from any form of unification, the desire for a cohesive written language that would be understandable across the many German-speaking principalities and kingdoms was stronger than ever. As a spoken language German remained highly fractured throughout this period, with a vast number of often mutually incomprehensible regional dialects being spoken throughout
7074-746: The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , and the other being Meißner Deutsch , used in the Electorate of Saxony in the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg . Alongside these courtly written standards, the invention of the printing press led to the development of a number of printers' languages ( Druckersprachen ) aimed at making printed material readable and understandable across as many diverse dialects of German as possible. The greater ease of production and increased availability of written texts brought about increased standardisation in
7205-693: The Iron Cross and Reichsadler , Wolfsangel , the party and Reichkriegsflagge Nazi flags, the Sturmabteilung emblem, the Nazi salute and the greetings "Heil Hitler" or "Sieg Heil", are outlawed under the law) it also extends to bans on symbols of the Communist Party of Germany ( Hammer and sickle , red star and red flag are under it), ISIS Black Standard , and Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) pennant. This section has been
7336-666: The Old High German language in several Elder Futhark inscriptions from as early as the sixth century AD (such as the Pforzen buckle ), the Old High German period is generally seen as beginning with the Abrogans (written c. 765–775 ), a Latin-German glossary supplying over 3,000 Old High German words with their Latin equivalents. After the Abrogans , the first coherent works written in Old High German appear in
7467-422: The Public Prosecutor General for a small number of exceptional offenses (such as crimes against humanity and the formation of terrorist organisations ). As such, they are responsible for issuing search and arrest warrants , among other things. The German legal order has different supreme courts for the different branches of its judiciary . The four sister supreme courts of the Federal Court of Justice are
7598-676: The Sprachraum in Europe. German is used in a wide variety of spheres throughout the country, especially in business, tourism, and public signage, as well as in education, churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK) ), other cultural spheres such as music, and media (such as German language radio programs by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation ). The Allgemeine Zeitung
7729-550: The Standard German language in its written form, and the Duden Handbook was declared its standard definition. Punctuation and compound spelling (joined or isolated compounds) were not standardized in the process. The Deutsche Bühnensprache ( lit. ' German stage language ' ) by Theodor Siebs had established conventions for German pronunciation in theatres , three years earlier; however, this
7860-413: The United States Army on 18 April 1945. In the British occupation zone , the Supreme Court for the British Zone ( Oberster Gerichtshof für die Britische Zone ) came into operation in 1948. The court was tasked with ensuring the uniform jurisprudence within the zone; to that end, its scope of jurisdiction and its procedural rules largely followed the example of the Reichsgericht . The foundation of
7991-400: The Upper German dialects spoken in the southern German-speaking countries , such as Swiss German ( Alemannic dialects ) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French region of Grand Est , such as Alsatian (mainly Alemannic, but also Central–and Upper Franconian dialects) and Lorraine Franconian (Central Franconian). After these High German dialects, standard German
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#17327659744688122-408: The pagan Germanic tradition. Of particular interest to scholars, however, has been the Hildebrandslied , a secular epic poem telling the tale of an estranged father and son unknowingly meeting each other in battle. Linguistically, this text is highly interesting due to the mixed use of Old Saxon and Old High German dialects in its composition. The written works of this period stem mainly from
8253-426: The (previously misunderstood) requirements of said offense. In a minority of cases, the Federal Court of Justice can also decide a case on the merits without sending it back. This can occur, for instance, when a trial court has made a finding about the defendant's actions pertaining to an offense committed by someone else and has determined on that basis that the defendant is guilty of aiding the third party in committing
8384-407: The 1990s the Federal Prosecutor General's Office was separated off of the Federal Court of Justice and housed in a new building in Brauerstrasse. In October 2003, an extension building was inaugurated. The large library contains the Museum of Legal History ( Rechtshistorisches Museum ). In April 2012, a new reception building with large courtroom opened. Up until then the garden had been used as
8515-426: The Empire was dissolved in 1806, so were the two supreme courts. What ensued was a prolonged period of judicial independence of the dozens of newly-sovereign German states within the German Confederation . In the states of central and northern Germany, this changed following the foundation of the North German Confederation , where the Leipzig -based Bundesoberhandelsgericht commenced operation in August 1870. In
8646-614: The Empire. Its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Prague (German: Prag ) and Budapest ( Buda , German: Ofen ), to name two examples, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain; others, like Pressburg ( Pozsony , now Bratislava), were originally settled during the Habsburg period and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest, Bratislava, and cities like Zagreb (German: Agram ) or Ljubljana (German: Laibach ), contained significant German minorities. In
8777-416: The Federal Constitutional Court—but not before any of the lower courts. Admission to the bar at the Federal Court of Justice is highly selective; as of June 2022, only 38 attorneys are so admitted. Candidates for admission are nominated by an electoral committee (consisting of judges, members of the ordinary bar, and other members of the bar at the Federal Court of Justice) and are then chosen and appointed by
8908-429: The Federal Court of Justice admitted to the failed processing of the Third Reich justice system. The Federal Court of Justice is housed in five buildings on park-like premises in the centre of Karlsruhe, Herrenstraße 45 a. The main building is the Hereditary Grand Ducal Palace ( Erbgrossherzogliches Palais ) built in 1891 to 1897 by Josef Durm. During WWII its dome was destroyed and the mansard floor caught fire. In
9039-456: The Federal Court of Justice arrives at the conclusion that a provision is unconstitutional and if the court's desired decision of the case depends on that determination, the court must stay the proceedings and must first obtain a decision from the Federal Constitutional Court ( Bundesverfassungsgericht ) on the provision's constitutionality. German language German (German: Deutsch , pronounced [dɔʏtʃ] )
9170-411: The Federal Court of Justice is a regular judge of the court who has been proposed for this additional role by the Federal Minister of Justice and has been so appointed by the Federal President of Germany. The president of the court has a dual role: The president of the court must serve as the presiding judge of at least one civil or criminal division of the court, in addition to being the presiding judge of
9301-584: The Federal Court of Justice must retire upon reaching the retirement age . The retirement age is between 65 and 67 years, depending on the year of birth. The Federal Court of Justice consists of 13 divisions responsible for civil matters ( Zivilsenate ) and six divisions responsible for criminal matters ( Strafsenate ). Each judge of the court is assigned to at least one civil or criminal division, with both civil and criminal divisions presently consisting of approximately eight judges each. Judges can serve on more than one division, in which case their working time
9432-675: The Federal Labour Court, or the Federal Social Court), it must refer the issue to the Joint Panel ( Gemeinsamer Senat ). The Joint Panel is composed of the presidents of all supreme courts (permanent members) and two judges from each of the divisions involved in the disagreement (ad-hoc members). In practice, the Divergenzvorlage instrument is used only sparsely. In 2021, not a single question
9563-502: The Federal Minister of Justice. The requirement for a representative specifically admitted to the Federal Court of Justice does not apply in criminal cases. Here, representation by any lawyer admitted to the bar in Germany is sufficient. The Federal Court of Justice, like all German courts of ordinary jurisdiction, is barred from determining that a law or any part of a law violates the German constitution (the Basic Law ). If
9694-483: The Federal President of Germany. A presiding judge's vote on a given case carries the same weight as that of any of the associate judges on the panel, but a presiding judge does have some additional influence on the jurisprudence of their division due to the fact that they are a member of every five-judge panel of their division. The Federal Court of Justice has a president and a presidium. The president of
9825-645: The Federal Republic of Germany. Article 96(1) of the Basic Law provided that "higher federal courts shall be established for the spheres of ordinary, administrative, finance, labour and social jurisdiction." Roughly a year later, it was decided by the German federal parliament, the Bundestag , that the "higher federal court" of ordinary (i.e., civil and criminal) jurisdiction was to be named Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice) and that its seat
9956-748: The Frisian languages— North Frisian (spoken in Nordfriesland ), Saterland Frisian (spoken in Saterland ), and West Frisian (spoken in Friesland )—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These Anglo-Frisian dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both Old Norse and the Norman language . The history of
10087-483: The German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the Migration Period , which separated Old High German dialects from Old Saxon . This sound shift involved a drastic change in the pronunciation of both voiced and voiceless stop consonants ( b , d , g , and p , t , k , respectively). The primary effects of the shift were the following below. While there is written evidence of
10218-451: The German states; the invention of the printing press c. 1440 and the publication of Luther's vernacular translation of the Bible in 1534, however, had an immense effect on standardizing German as a supra-dialectal written language. The ENHG period saw the rise of several important cross-regional forms of chancery German, one being gemeine tiutsch , used in the court of
10349-681: The Germanic dialects that were affected by the High German consonant shift (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as High German dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the Low German and Low Franconian dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as Irminonic , Ingvaeonic , and Istvaeonic , respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by
10480-470: The Grand Panels, the Joint Panel, and one of the special divisions. At the same time, the president serves in a key administrative role, supervising the other judges of the court, the court's academic staff, civil servants, and employees and may also participate in the preparation of legislative projects by issuing opinions. The following is a list of all presidents of the Federal Court of Justice since
10611-655: The Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group). Standard German is based on a combination of Thuringian - Upper Saxon and Upper Franconian dialects, which are Central German and Upper German dialects belonging to the High German dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as Luxembourgish (based on Central Franconian dialects ) and Yiddish . Also closely related to Standard German are
10742-865: The Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia , as well as a recognized national language in Namibia . There are also notable German-speaking communities in France ( Alsace ), the Czech Republic ( North Bohemia ), Poland ( Upper Silesia ), Slovakia ( Košice Region , Spiš , and Hauerland ), Denmark ( North Schleswig ), Romania and Hungary ( Sopron ). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil ( Blumenau and Pomerode ), South Africa ( Kroondal ), Namibia , among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters (e.g. Pozuzo , Peru). German
10873-518: The MHG period. Significantly, these texts include a number of impressive secular works, such as the Nibelungenlied , an epic poem telling the story of the dragon -slayer Siegfried ( c. thirteenth century ), and the Iwein , an Arthurian verse poem by Hartmann von Aue ( c. 1203 ), lyric poems , and courtly romances such as Parzival and Tristan . Also noteworthy
11004-601: The Penal Code of the German Empire passed in the year 1871 on May 15 in Reichstag which was largely identical to the Penal Code of the North German Confederation from 1870. It came into effect on January 1, 1872. This Reichsstrafgesetzbuch (Imperial Penal Code) was changed many times in the following decades in response not only to changing moral concepts and constitutional provision granted by
11135-512: The aggravating circumstances mentioned in § 211 sec.2 fulfilled. Those circumstances concern base motives, criminal aims or cruel ways of committing the crime. An intentional killing that does not qualify for Mord is called Totschlag (§ 212). § 211 is the only crime within the Strafgesetzbuch that carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment (a sentence of life without parole is not expressly provided for in German law, but it
11266-589: The allocation of cases to a five-judge panel. The allocation of cases to divisions is fundamentally different in civil matters than in criminal matters: Each of the civil divisions has specific subject matter responsibilities. For instance, civil disputes concerning copyright law are handled by the First Civil Division, while disputes concerning inheritance law are handled by the Fourth. In practice, these responsibilities are rarely changed, which leads to
11397-514: The appeal. To the extent the appeal on points of law is deemed justified, the Federal Court of Justice reverses the contested judgment and remands the matter (sends it back) to the court of appeal, which decides on it once again. In doing so, the court of appeal must comply with the Federal Court of Justice's decision. The criminal divisions of the Federal Court of Justice primarily deal with appeals on points of law ( Revision ). In Germany, criminal cases involving lesser offenses are decided in
11528-420: The appellate court. An appellate court is legally required to grant leave if (a) the legal matter is of fundamental significance or if (b) the further development of the law or the interests in ensuring uniform adjudication require a decision to be handed down by the Federal Court of Justice. If leave to appeal is granted, the Federal Court of Justice is bound by this determination of the lower court and has to take
11659-404: The basis for the confiscation of video games like Wolfenstein 3D or Mortyr and the censorship of Nazi symbolism in World War II -related media until August 2018. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself made a complaint in 2016 against German satirist Jan Böhmermann as a private person because of an alleged insult. The Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Numan Kurtulmuş , called
11790-405: The beginning of each calendar year (and, in exceptional circumstances, during the year). In addition, the presidium can appoint a judge as one of the investigating judges of the court. The civil divisions of the Federal Court of Justice primarily deal with appeals on points of law ( Revision ) and complaints against denial of leave to appeal on points of law ( Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde ). In
11921-631: The beginning, the court's supreme appellate jurisdiction was largely limited to trade law matters, but after the southern German states joined the Confederation in November 1870 to form the German Empire , the court—now known as Reichsoberhandelsgericht —received jurisdiction over various additional areas of civil law. In 1879, the Reichsoberhandelsgericht was replaced with the Reichsgericht . Also located in Leipzig,
12052-419: The case. Should an injured party feel that the appellate court has wrongly decided not to grant leave to appeal, they can file a Nichtzulassungsbeschwerde with the Federal Court of Justice provided that the subject matter of the appeal is greater than € 20,000. If the Federal Court of Justice agrees that leave to appeal on a point of law was wrongly denied, it grants leave on its own and subsequently rules on
12183-414: The court composed of the presiding judges of each of the 13 civil divisions and the president of the court; in cases of disagreement between criminal divisions, the issue is referred to the Grand Panel for Criminal Matters ( Großer Senat für Strafsachen ), which is made up of two representatives from each of the six criminal divisions and the president of the court. If a difference of opinion arises between
12314-405: The court's establishment: The presidium of the Federal Court of Justice consists of the president and ten other judges of the court. The ten other members of the presidium are elected by all judges of the court. Among other duties, it is the responsibility of the presidium to assign new judges to one or more divisions of the court. Judges can also be reassigned to other divisions by the presidium at
12445-402: The criminal divisions has a special responsibility for road traffic-related criminal matters and another one has exclusive responsibility for national security matters. Each division of the Federal Court of Justice has a presiding judge. Presiding judges are regular judges of the Federal Court of Justice who are proposed for this additional role by the Federal Minister of Justice and appointed by
12576-407: The decision by the appellate court can then be further appealed to the Federal Court of Justice—but this time only on points of law. Examples of such points of law are (alleged) procedural defects or an incorrect understanding of the law that led to the lower court's decision. The Federal Court of Justice itself does not receive additional evidence, nor does it hear witnesses, and conducts its review of
12707-649: The defeat of Nazi Germany , a number of prohibiting provisions were included in the Strafgesetzbuch : In 2002 German public prosecutors were empowered to prosecute crimes against humanity , war crimes and genocide internationally under the Völkerstrafgesetzbuch ("Code of Crimes against international Law"). Another special penal code is the Wehrstrafgesetz to prosecute special crimes within military service such as insubordination (§20 WStG) and desertion (§16 WStG). The German Penal Code
12838-430: The development of non-local forms of language and exposed all speakers to forms of German from outside their own area. With Luther's rendering of the Bible in the vernacular, German asserted itself against the dominance of Latin as a legitimate language for courtly, literary, and now ecclesiastical subject-matter. His Bible was ubiquitous in the German states: nearly every household possessed a copy. Nevertheless, even with
12969-456: The dialect so as to make the work as natural and accessible to German speakers as possible. Copies of Luther's Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region, translating words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Luther said the following concerning his translation method: One who would talk German does not ask the Latin how he shall do it; he must ask the mother in
13100-469: The distribution or public use of symbols of unconstitutional groups, in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting. The laws ban most Nazi insignia from any usage for propagating the ideology outside artistic, scientific, research, or opposition uses ( swastikas , SS sig runes , Totenkopf , Othala rune , the neo-Nazi version of the Celtic Cross , the swastikas versions of
13231-519: The eastern provinces of Banat , Bukovina , and Transylvania (German: Banat, Buchenland, Siebenbürgen ), German was the predominant language not only in the larger towns—like Temeschburg ( Timișoara ), Hermannstadt ( Sibiu ), and Kronstadt ( Brașov )—but also in many smaller localities in the surrounding areas. In 1901, the Second Orthographic Conference ended with a (nearly) complete standardization of
13362-411: The first instance by a district court ( Amtsgericht ), while more serious offenses are initially decided by panels of regional courts ( Landgerichte ) or, in few cases, higher regional courts ( Oberlandesgerichte ). Criminal cases originating in a regional or higher regional court can subsequently be appealed to the Federal Court of Justice on points of law. Unlike in civil cases, no grant of leave
13493-435: The home, the children on the streets, the common man in the market-place and note carefully how they talk, then translate accordingly. They will then understand what is said to them because it is German. When Christ says ' ex abundantia cordis os loquitur ,' I would translate, if I followed the papists, aus dem Überflusz des Herzens redet der Mund . But tell me is this talking German? What German understands such stuff? No,
13624-569: The individual case in which it enters, de facto the court's interpretation of the law is followed by lower courts with almost no exception. Decisions handed down by the Federal Court of Justice can only be vacated by the Federal Constitutional Court for violating a provision of the German constitution, the Basic Law . In addition to the court's appellate duties, a few judges of the Federal Court of Justice act as investigating judges in criminal investigations led by
13755-481: The influence of Luther's Bible as an unofficial written standard, a widely accepted standard for written German did not appear until the middle of the eighteenth century. German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire , which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe . Until the mid-nineteenth century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of
13886-421: The largest concentrations of German speakers are in the states of Rio Grande do Sul (where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch developed), Santa Catarina , and Espírito Santo . Strafgesetzbuch Strafgesetzbuch ( German pronunciation: [ˈʃtʁaːfɡəˌzɛtsbuːx] , literally "penal law book"), abbreviated to StGB , is the German penal code . In Germany the Strafgesetzbuch goes back to
14017-430: The lower court's decision based on the briefs submitted by counsel and the record of lower court proceedings. In some instances where the five judges of the panel unanimously find that a criminal appeal is inadmissible or has no chance of success, they can dismiss it without oral argument. Unlike in civil matters, a panel can also unanimously decide in favour of a defendant without oral argument. In other cases, oral argument
14148-406: The lower court's decision based on the briefs submitted by counsel, the record of lower court proceedings, and oral argument. In some instances where the five judges of the panel unanimously find that an appeal is inadmissible or has no chance of success, they can dismiss it without oral argument. In general, bringing a civil case to the Federal Court of Justice requires a grant of leave to appeal by
14279-402: The mother in the home and the plain man would say, Wesz das Herz voll ist, des gehet der Mund über . Luther's translation of the Bible into High German was also decisive for the German language and its evolution from Early New High German to modern Standard German. The publication of Luther's Bible was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy in early modern Germany , and promoted
14410-466: The necessary educational background. Judges of the Federal Court of Justice also have to be 35 years of age or older. The judges of the Federal Court of Justice are selected by an electoral committee ( Richterwahlausschuss ) consisting of the Ministers of Justice of the 16 German Bundesländer and of 16 representatives appointed by the German federal parliament, the Bundestag . In practice,
14541-653: The ninth century, chief among them being the Muspilli , Merseburg charms , and Hildebrandslied , and other religious texts (the Georgslied , Ludwigslied , Evangelienbuch , and translated hymns and prayers). The Muspilli is a Christian poem written in a Bavarian dialect offering an account of the soul after the Last Judgment , and the Merseburg charms are transcriptions of spells and charms from
14672-401: The offence is capable of undermining the continued existence or security of the Federal Republic of Germany) and when it deems the crime to be of "special significance". In such cases as well, the investigating judges of the Federal Court of Justice have jurisdiction. Appeals of decisions in some particular areas of the law are handled by special divisions of the court. The following table lists
14803-553: The offense; if the Federal Court of Justice later deems the defendant's actions—as found by the trial court—insufficient to justify a conviction as an aider, the Federal Court of Justice may acquit the defendant. Two judges of the Federal Court of Justice (plus four judges acting as their deputies) serve as the investigating judges ( Ermittlungsrichter ) of the court. In the German criminal law system, investigating judges are responsible for deciding on arrests, provisional placements, seizures, searches, and other measures in relation to
14934-528: The poem a "serious crime against humanity". On 1 June 2017 the German Bundestag decided by a unanimous vote to repeal this section. This decision went into effect on 1 January 2018. Section 3 outlaws denying the genocide committed under the rule of National Socialism (1933–1945). Section 4 prohibits glorifying or approving the reign of the Nazis. Section 130 makes it a crime to: This section
15065-462: The pronunciation of the ending -ig as [ɪk] instead of [ɪç]. In Northern Germany, High German was a foreign language to most inhabitants, whose native dialects were subsets of Low German. It was usually encountered only in writing or formal speech; in fact, most of High German was a written language, not identical to any spoken dialect, throughout the German-speaking area until well into the 19th century. However, wider standardization of pronunciation
15196-453: The section also criminalized sexual acts between humans and animals. No corresponding legislation against lesbian sex acts existed. Highly controversial, it outlaws the preparation of an act of data espionage (§ 202a) or data interception (§ 202b) by making, obtaining, selling, distributing (or otherwise committing or making accessible to others) As the definition of a "program with the purpose of committing data espionage or data interception"
15327-402: The special divisions of the Federal Court of Justice. All judges of the Federal Court of Justice that serve in a special division are regular members of a civil and/or criminal division. All divisions of the court are at liberty to deviate from their own prior jurisprudence at any time. However, when a panel wishes to deviate from the jurisprudence of one or more other divisions, it must submit
15458-546: The states of North Dakota and South Dakota , German is the most common language spoken at home after English. As a legacy of significant German immigration to the country , German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region , such as New Ulm and Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), plus many other regions. A number of German varieties have developed in the country and are still spoken today, such as Pennsylvania Dutch and Texas German . In Brazil,
15589-500: The third most commonly learned second language in the United States in K-12 education. The language has been influential in the fields of philosophy, theology, science, and technology. It is the second most commonly used language in science and the third most widely used language on websites . The German-speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of annual publication of new books, with one-tenth of all books (including e-books) in
15720-452: The violation of law by virtue of which the judgment is vacated. Therefore, a grave procedural defect may lead to an entirely new trial; on the other hand, if a trial court improperly did not find a particular offense on the basis of an incorrect understanding of its legal requirements, the factual findings may be left in place entirely, and the trial court, as the basis for its new judgement, may only have to take additional evidence pertaining to
15851-514: The work is, however, done within the civil and criminal divisions: Of the approximately 10,400 new matters brought before the Court in 2021, about 10,200 fell within the scope of responsibility of a criminal or civil division. As in all German courts, an annually revised schedule of responsibilities ( Geschäftsverteilungsplan ) specifies in detail the allocation of cases to divisions, and each division's internal schedule of responsibilities determines
15982-555: The world being published in German. German is most closely related to other West Germanic languages, namely Afrikaans , Dutch , English , the Frisian languages , and Scots . It also contains close similarities in vocabulary to some languages in the North Germanic group , such as Danish , Norwegian , and Swedish . Modern German gradually developed from Old High German , which in turn developed from Proto-Germanic during
16113-600: The written form of German. One of the central events in the development of ENHG was the publication of Luther's translation of the Bible into High German (the New Testament was published in 1522; the Old Testament was published in parts and completed in 1534). Luther based his translation primarily on the Meißner Deutsch of Saxony , spending much time among the population of Saxony researching
16244-429: Was a "neutral" language as there were virtually no English native speakers in Namibia at that time. German, Afrikaans, and several indigenous languages thus became "national languages" by law, identifying them as elements of the cultural heritage of the nation and ensuring that the state acknowledged and supported their presence in the country. Today, Namibia is considered to be the only German-speaking country outside of
16375-547: Was an artificial standard that did not correspond to any traditional spoken dialect. Rather, it was based on the pronunciation of German in Northern Germany, although it was subsequently regarded often as a general prescriptive norm, despite differing pronunciation traditions especially in the Upper-German-speaking regions that still characterise the dialect of the area today – especially
16506-551: Was established effective 1 October 1950 and began operating a day later. The Supreme Court for the British Zone ceased operations a day earlier and all cases pending before the court were transferred to the Federal Court of Justice. Of the 54 judgeships initially authorised for the court, only 12 were immediately filled, although that number quickly rose to 42 within the first three months of the court's operation; by July 1952 it stood at 86. New divisions were established, including
16637-693: Was established in 1495 as the highest court of the Holy Roman Empire , is often viewed as the institutional origin of supreme court jurisprudence in Germany. The court arose out of an attempt by the Imperial Estates to counter the influence of the Emperor, which led to the somewhat unusual circumstance of the coexistence of two supreme courts with concurrent jurisdiction over most matters. The emperor's own Aulic Council ( Reichshofrat ) in Vienna had sole jurisdiction over criminal cases, however. As
16768-492: Was established on the basis of public speaking in theatres and the media during the 20th century and documented in pronouncing dictionaries. Official revisions of some of the rules from 1901 were not issued until the controversial German orthography reform of 1996 was made the official standard by governments of all German-speaking countries. Media and written works are now almost all produced in Standard German which
16899-400: Was put before the Grand Panel for Criminal Matters (2020: 2). Between 1951 and 2009, only 36 decisions were issued by the Grand Panel for Civil Matters. In all civil cases heard by the Federal Court of Justice, the parties need to be represented by an attorney who has been specifically admitted to the bar at the Federal Court of Justice ( Rechtsanwalt beim Bundesgerichtshof ). This admission
17030-623: Was to be in the city of Karlsruhe . The location of the new supreme courts had been a matter of considerable debate at the time. Karlsruhe's most serious contender had been Cologne, where both the Supreme Court for the British Zone and the German High Court for the Combined Economic Area were based, but the Karlsruhe proposal ultimately found a large majority in the relevant parliamentary committee. The Federal Court of Justice
17161-422: Was used as the legal basis for confiscating some horror movies and a few video games such as Mortal Kombat , Manhunt , and Condemned . Outlaws rewarding or approving of crimes "publicly, in a meeting or through dissemination of writings […], and in a manner that is capable of disturbing the public peace". This only applies to crimes where failure to report is an offense (§ 138), among them preparation of
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