Allied courts in Germany

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The Allied courts in Germany were courts of the Allied occupying powers in Germany in the 1920s as a result of the First World War ( Rhineland occupation ) and from 1944 to 1955 and in West Berlin until 1990 as a result of the Second World War .

As a result of the First World War

Occupied Rhineland (1923)

The jurisdiction of the Allies Belgium , France , Great Britain and the USA was based on Art. 3 Para. D and e of the agreement on Art. 428 ff. Of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, regarding the military occupation of the Rhineland . It was exercised by military courts , which also ruled on German civilians.

As a result of World War II

A common court for all four allies, the Soviet Union , USA, Great Britain and France, was the International Military Tribunal , which was decided during the war . In addition, KRG No. 4 of 1945 withdrew certain items from German jurisdiction; Allied courts were responsible for these matters.

Soviet zone

In the Soviet zone there were purely military courts ( Soviet military tribunals , SMT). After the formation of the states in the Soviet zone of occupation, they were based in Berlin in 1946 and in the five state capitals Schwerin, Potsdam, Weimar, Halle / Saale and Dresden. The highest supervisory (not: appeal) instance in Germany was the existing tribunal at the level of the (overall) group of the Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (GSBSD) (chaired 1946-50: N. Yes. Majorow) Military College of the Supreme Court of the USSR . The courts were later given field post numbers. The "Military Tribunal of Troop Unit 48240" (военный трибунал войсковой части 48240; possibly identical to the SMT of the GSBSD) gained special significance in politically explosive matters. The organization and procedures of the SMT were largely non-transparent.

Place of court (circa 1948)

Western zones

In the western zones, too, there were originally military courts according to SHAEF Ordinance No. 2 of 1944. It was structured in three stages: upper, middle and simple military courts.

Restrictions on German jurisdiction resulted from AHK law No. 13 of 1949, which replaced KRG No. 4 and other regulations in the western zones. In particular, the German courts were withdrawn by law

  • Offenses committed by members of the occupying power (Art. 1 letter a)
  • Criminal offenses against the occupying power or its legal provisions (Art. 1 letter b)
  • civil law disputes involving members of the occupying power (Art. 2 letter a)

In addition, the occupation authorities had the opportunity to take hold of individual items (evocation, Art. 7). The law applied was partly German law, partly occupation law (and, through this, also the home law of the occupying power).

While purely military courts were naturally responsible for the crimes committed by members of the occupying power, the development of the judiciary from 1947/48 onwards varied depending on the zone and legal tradition of the occupying power. In addition, restitution courts for victims of National Socialism were created in all three western zones, as well as compensation courts for occupation damage (cf. AHK Act No. 47 of 1951).

American zone

In the American zone, a civil court of the military government (Military Government Court for Civil Actions) for road traffic accidents was initially set up in Stuttgart by Ordinance No. 6 of 1945, and by Ordinance No. 16 of 1947 two Rhine Navigation Criminal Courts ) in Mannheim and Wiesbaden.

A complete reorganization of the judiciary took place with Ordinance No. 31 of 1948: There were now eleven district courts (District Courts; Bremen, Berlin, Marburg, Frankfurt am Main, Heidelberg, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Munich, Regensburg, Ansbach, Würzburg) and one court of appeal (Court of Appeals), plus a Code of Criminal Procedure (Ordinance No. 32) and a Code of Civil Procedure (Ordinance No. 33). Act No. 10 of 1950 made these courts the "American Courts of the Allied High Commission for Germany". Law No. 20 of 1951 with associated notice No. 1 transferred them to an American court with seven districts (Bremen, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart, Munich, Regensburg, Nuremberg) and an American court of appeal.

The court of appeal had its seat initially in Nuremberg , from 1951 in Frankfurt am Main . Its President (Chief Justice) was from 1949 to 1954 William Clark . Collection of decisions: Court of Appeals reports (1.1949–20.1954 / 55, ZDB -ID 217288-4 and ZDB -ID 217289-6 ).

Executive Order no. 4 to the Law no. 59 created in 1948 a Board of Review for refund things located in Nuremberg, by executing Regulation No. 7, 1950 is converted into a refund appeal court (Court of Restitution Appeals, CORA) obtained by law no. 21 of 1951 was detached from the "American Courts of the Allied High Commission" and made independent. Collection of decisions: Court of Restitution Appeals reports (1.1951–5.1955, ZDB -ID 205673-2 ).

British zone

In the British zone were carried Regulation No created 68 of 1,947 new "dishes of the Control Commission", viz. Lower courts (Summary Courts) in different locations and a Supreme Court (Supreme Court, not to be confused with the Supreme Court for the British Zone in Cologne ), consisting of a high court (high court) and a court of appeal (court of appeal). Ordinance No. 72 of 1947 regulated criminal proceedings.

The seat of the court of appeal was Herford , Chief Judge from 1947 to 1950 the New Zealander Lindsay Merritt Inglis . Collection of decisions: Court of Appeal reports. Criminal cases = decisions of the court of appeal. Criminal matters (1947–1950, ZDB -ID 88465-0 ).

With the sixth regulation implementing the Law no. 59 of 1950, a Board of Review (Review Panel) was built for Restitution and converted by Regulation n. 255 of 1954 in the Supreme Restitution Court for the British Zone (Supreme Restitution Court for the British Zone, SRC ). Collection of decisions: Decisions of the Supreme Restitution Court for the British Zone (1.1954–5.1955, ZDB -ID 704385-5 ).

A Compensation Court was created by Order 228 of 1951.

French zone

In the French zone, a Tribunal Français for French civilian personnel was also created by decree no. 56 of 1946. Incidentally, Order No. 43 of 1946 followed SHAEF Regulation No. 2 of 1944: there was a Supreme Court (Tribunal Général), five Intermediate Courts (Tribunaux Intermédiaires; Freiburg, Reutlingen, Neustadt, Koblenz, Saarbrücken) and 30 Lower courts (Tribunaux Sommaires). The Tribunal Intermédiaire Neustadt and the Tribunaux Sommaires were dissolved by Ordinance No. 99 of 1947 and partially replaced by detached chambers of the other Tribunaux Intermédiaires. Two well-known decisions by the Tribunal Général were made in the Tillessen and Natzweiler cases (see also the Rastatt Trials ).

A reorganization took place with Ordinance No. 177 and Order No. 89 of 1948: now there was (in addition to the Tribunal Français) a higher court (Tribunal Supérieur) and five courts of first instance (Tribunaux de Première Instance; one in Rastatt specifically for war crimes, the other in Freiburg, Reutlingen, Neustadt and Koblenz, whereby Berlin was assigned to Freiburg). By Decree No. 237 of 1949, the courts of the French military government became “French Courts of the Allied High Commission for Germany”. With Ordinance No. 242 and Order No. 152 of 1950, the War Crimes Court of First Instance ceased to exist and Berlin was given its own court of first instance. With order No. 188 from 1952, only two of the five courts of first instance remained (Rastatt and Berlin).

The seat of the Tribunal Général and the Tribunal Supérieur was Rastatt ; its president was from 1948 to 1955 Alfred Weninger.

Compensation courts were created by Decree No. 134 of 1947. Decree No. 252 of 1950 established a Supreme Court for Restitution Matters (Cour Supérieure pour les Restitutions, CSR) with its seat in Rastatt; Collection of decisions: Recueil des arrêts de la Cour Supérieure pour les Restitutions à Rastatt (1.1951 / 52–2.1953 / 55; ZDB -ID 216328-7 ).

Succession arrangements

In the three constellations mentioned above , jurisdiction was distributed as follows after 1955 (with the exception of West Berlin) on the basis of a state treaty ( Status of Forces Agreements ):

  • Crimes committed by NATO / GSSD members
    • against one 's own troops or in an official capacity: jurisdiction in the sending state (Art. 7 Para. 3 NTS ; Art. 5, 6 Armed Forces Agreement)
    • otherwise: respective German jurisdiction (exception: waiver according to Art. 19 NTS-ZA )
  • Other crimes against NATO / GSSD: respective German jurisdiction (see also NATO Troop Protection Act )
  • Civil matters with the participation of NATO / GSSD members
    • respective German jurisdiction
    • Special feature of damage committed by NATO / GSSD members in an official capacity: Assertion against the respective German authorities (Art. 8 Paragraph 5 NTS and Art. 12 Paragraph 2, Art. 25 NTS-AG; Art. 25 Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement)

The three courts of appeal for restitution matters each became a senate in the international Supreme Restitution Court in Herford, which existed from 1955 to 1990 .

West Berlin

AKB Act No. 7 of 1950 based on AHK Act No. 13 laid down reservations with regard to German jurisdiction in Berlin . A Supreme Restitution Court for Berlin was created by AKB Act No. 25 of 1953 ; Collection of decisions: decisions of the Supreme Restitution Court for Berlin (1.1953 / 54–34.1980 / 88, ZDB -ID 1880-6 ).

After the end of the occupation statute for West Germany in 1955, the Allied courts initially continued to exist in Berlin (cf. Art. 2 Germany Treaty ); in the American sector, Law No. 46 of 1955 replaced the previous courts with an American court for Berlin .

The Allied courts in Berlin were rarely used. Three examples:

As a result of Article 7 of the Two-Plus-Four Treaty , the Allied courts were also dissolved in Berlin in 1990.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RGBl. 1919 p. 1337
  2. ↑ For the jurisdiction in British-occupied Solingen see Hartmut Roehr: ... it is already made difficult enough for us anyway . Books on Demand, 2006, ISBN 3-8334-4148-8 , pp. 77 ( full text in Google Book Search).
  3. ^ Reorganization of the German judiciary , OJ KR No. 2 (1945) p. 26
  4. ↑ Andreas Hilger, Nikita Petrov: "Dealing with dirty work"? The Soviet judicial and security apparatus in Germany . In: Andreas Hilger, Mike Schmeitzner, Ute Schmidt (eds.): Soviet military tribunals (=  writings of the Hannah Arendt Institute . Volume 17 ). tape 2 . Böhlau, ISBN 3-412-06801-2 , pp. 108 f . ( Full text in Google Book Search).
  5. ↑ a b Courts of the Military Government , OJ MR (12AG) No. 1 (1944) p. 7
  6. ↑ a b Jurisdiction in the reserved areas , OJ AHK No. 6 (1949) p. 54
  7. ↑ For example, the American Court of Appeal based the conviction for the murder of a US soldier on AHK Act No. 14 Offenses against the interests of the occupation , OJ AHK No. 6 (1949) p. 59 , and the murder feature “Vorbedacht "(" premediation ") of the common law : appellate court decisions Vol 15 p 336 /. 343 (1952).
  8. ↑ Compensation for crew damage , OJ AHK No. 47 (1951) p. 767
  9. ↑ Civil Court of the Military Government , OJ MR (A) Edition A (1946) p. 73
  10. ↑ Rhine navigation criminal courts of the military government , OJ MR (A) Ed. E (1947) p. 19
  11. ↑ Courts of the American Military Government in Germany , OJ MR (A) Edition K (1948) p. 35
  12. ↑ Code of Criminal Procedure for Courts of the American Military Government in Germany , OJ MR (A) Ed. K (1948) p.44
  13. ↑ Code of Civil Procedure for the Courts of the American Military Government in Germany , OJ MR (A) Ausg. K (1948) p. 55
  14. ↑ American Courts of the Allied High Commission for Germany , OJ AHK No. 38 (1950) p. 643
  15. ↑ American Court and Court of Appeal of the Allied High Commission for Germany , OJ AHK No. 56 (1951) p. 919
  16. ↑ Local jurisdiction of the American court of the Allied High Commission for Germany , OJ AHK No. 56 (1951) p. 935
  17. ↑ Establishment of a Board of Review , OJ MR (A) Edition K (1948) p. 1
  18. ↑ Abl.AHK no. 9 (1950), p 93
  19. ↑ American restitution appeals court of the Allied High Commission for Germany , OJ AHK No. 56 (1951) p. 929
  20. ↑ Courts of the Control Commission , OJ MR (B) No. 15 (1947) p. 363 ; 1st amended version: OJ MR (B) No. 26 (1949) p. 921 ; 2nd amended version: OJ AHK No. 16 (1950) p. 179
  21. ↑ Criminal proceedings in the courts of the Control Commission , OJ MR (B) No. 17 (1947) p. 443
  22. ↑ OJ AHK No. 19 (1950) p. 292
  23. ↑ OJ AHK No. 117 (1954) p. 3012
  24. ↑ Establishment of a compensation office and compensation court , OJ AHK No. 52 (1951) p. 847
  25. ^ Establishment of a French court in the Zone Française d'occupation in Germany , JO.CCFA No. 33 / Supplement and 39 / Supplement
  26. ^ Reorganization of the courts of the Gouvernement Militaire de la Zone Française d'Occupation , JO.CCFA No. 17 (1946) p. 134
  27. ^ Reorganization of the courts of the military government in the French occupied area , OJ CCFA No. 86 (1947) p. 861 , corrected by OJ CCFA No. 124 (1947) p. 1293
  28. ↑ JO.CCFA no. 61 (1947) p 605
  29. ↑ JO.CCFA No. 64 (1947) p. 653
  30. ^ Courts of the French military government in Germany , JO.CCFA No. 206 (1948) p. 1689
  31. ↑ Determination of the seat and jurisdiction of the courts of the French military government in Germany , JO.CCFA No. 206 (1948) p. 1700
  32. ↑ OJ AHK No. 4 (1949) p. 38
  33. ^ The French Courts of the Allied High Commission for Germany , OJ AHK No. 24 (1950) p. 421
  34. ↑ Seat and territorial jurisdiction of the French courts of the Allied High Commission for Germany , OJ AHK No. 24 (1950) p. 440
  35. ↑ Amendment of Order No. 152 , OJ AHK No. 92 (1952) p. 1907
  36. ↑ formation of compensation courts , JO.CCFA no. 122 (1947) p 1245
  37. ↑ Establishment of a higher court for reimbursement matters , OJ AHK No. 35 (1950) p. 603
  38. ^ Agreement between the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty on the legal status of their troops , Federal Law Gazette 1961 II p. 1190 ; previously contract on the rights and obligations of foreign armed forces and their members in the Federal Republic of Germany , Federal Law Gazette 1955 II p. 321
  39. ^ Agreement on issues related to the temporary stationing of Soviet armed forces on the territory of the German Democratic Republic , Journal of Laws of the German Democratic Republic 1957 I p. 237
  40. ^ Supplementary agreement to the agreement between the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty on the legal status of their troops with regard to the foreign troops stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany , Federal Law Gazette 1961 II p. 1218
  41. ↑ cf. Penal regulations for the protection of the three powers, the armed forces and their members , Federal Law Gazette 1955 II p. 373
  42. ↑ Law on the NATO troop statute and the supplementary agreements , Federal Law Gazette 1961 II p. 1183
  43. ^ Agreement on mutual legal assistance in matters related to the temporary stationing of Soviet armed forces on the territory of the GDR , Journal of Laws of GDR 1957 I p. 533; see also BGH , judgment of January 24, 1995 (VI ZR 199/93)
  44. ↑ Agreement to regulate issues arising from war and occupation , Federal Law Gazette 1955 II p. 423 ff.
  45. ↑ Jurisdiction in the reserved areas , OJ AKB No. 2 (1950) p. 11
  46. ↑ Supreme Restitution Court for Berlin , OJ AKB No. 47 (1953) p. 750
  47. ↑ Treaty on Relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Three Powers , Federal Law Gazette 1955 II p. 305
  48. ↑ American Court for Berlin , OJ AKB No. 71 (1955) p. 1056
  49. ↑ Offenses against the interests of the occupation , OJ AKB No. 27 (1951) p. 408 , amended by Ordinance No. 534, OJ AKB No. 92 (1968) p. 1192
  50. ↑ Von Mangoldt , ZAÖRV 30 (1970) p. 528 ; NJW 1970 p. 399
  51. ↑ ddz 9/1971 p. 58
  52. ↑ 86 FRD 227 = ILM 19 (1980) p. 179 ; Forch, ZAÖRV 40 (1980) p. 760
  53. ↑ Treaty on the final regulation in relation to Germany , Federal Law Gazette 1990 II p. 1317