Single judge
Single judge refers to a judge who decides on a case alone, i.e. without associate professional judges or honorary judges , i.e. who embodies the respective court alone. The counterpart to the single judge is the collegial court , in which several judges decide together.
In which cases the single judge and in which cases a collegial court decides, is regulated by the court constitution law of the respective country.
In the last few decades, the German legal situation has given the single judge more powers in areas that were previously reserved for the collegiate courts, namely the expansion of the factual jurisdiction of the local courts or the possibility of the district court or the higher regional court as well as the appeal courts by the single judge decide.
Ordinary jurisdiction
In proceedings that are part of ordinary jurisdiction , the panel can be formed by a single judge in all instances.
District Court
The departments formed at the district court are always occupied by a judge who also decides as a single judge ( Section 22 (1) GVG). Exceptions are the lay judges' courts set up for certain criminal proceedings and the agricultural court . In the case of lay judges, the local judge decides together with two lay judges; in the case of the extended lay jury, a further professional judge from the local court is called in. At the agricultural courts, a professional judge and two assessors decide who are practical farmers.
district Court
At the regional court , the single judge only makes decisions in civil matters . In criminal matters, collegial courts decide (either the small or the large criminal chamber ).
In civil matters that are settled in the first instance at the regional court, the civil chamber decides as a collegial court, unless the jurisdiction of the original single judge ( § 348 ZPO) or the obligatory single judge ( § 348a ZPO) is given.
The regulations of § 348 ZPO on the original single judge mean that a decision by the single judge is the norm in civil legal disputes at the regional court. According to this provision, the civil chamber decides through one of its members as a single judge, unless the competent judge is a judge on probation and has been appointed to decide on civil matters for less than one year according to the business distribution plan (Section 348 (1) sentence 2 no. 1 ZPO ) or one of the matters referred to in Section 348, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2, No. 2 ZPO. According to Section 348 (3) ZPO, the single judge must submit the case to the Chamber if it either presents particular difficulties of a factual or legal nature, is of fundamental importance, or the parties unanimously request this. In order for the civil chamber to take over the matter , however, a chamber decision is still required (Section 348 (3) p. 2-3 ZPO). A transfer of the matter back to the single judge is excluded (§ 348 Abs. 3 S. 4 ZPO)
The regulations on the mandatory single judge concern those cases in which the original single judge is not responsible. According to this, the civil chamber can transfer the case to the single judge if it is neither actually or legally difficult, nor is it of fundamental importance, nor has it already been heard orally before the civil chamber (Section 348a (1) ZPO). Here, too, there is the one-time possibility of submitting the legal dispute for acceptance by the Chamber.
The Chamber for Commercial Matters represents a special case within the scope of the regional court's jurisdiction . According to Section 349 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) , the chairman has to prepare the legal dispute so that it can be dealt with in an oral hearing by the Chamber. According to Section 349, Paragraph 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the chairman, with the consent of the parties, can also otherwise decide in place of the chamber, i.e. as a single judge.
In the appeal procedure , collegial courts generally decide (the chamber of the regional court or the senate of the higher regional court). However, Section 526 (1) ZPO provides that the legal dispute can be transferred to the single judge for a decision if the contested decision came from a single judge, the case is neither legally nor actually difficult and has no fundamental significance.
Higher Regional Court
Decisions of the higher regional court can endure through the single judge in civil cases where the Court of Appeal discussed an appeal against a judgment of the District Court that the District Court was adopted in turn by the single judge of the civil division, if the other requirements of § 526 para. 1 CCP are given. The Senate can also decide on fines through the single judge.
Federal Court of Justice
In accordance with its importance, the Federal Court of Justice regularly decides through arbitration bodies designed as collegial courts . However, the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice acts as a single judge .
Labor jurisdiction
In labor jurisdiction , the arbitration bodies at the labor court and the regional labor court are occupied by a professional judge and one representative each from the employee side and the employer side. A decision of the single judge can come to the labor court if the parties mutually request the decision of the dispute by the chairman of the chamber in the settlement date.
Administrative jurisdiction
According to § 6 VwGO, the chamber of the administrative court should transfer the legal dispute to the single judge for a decision if the matter is neither actually nor legally particularly difficult and has no fundamental significance. With the consent of the parties involved, the chairman (or, if appointed, the reporter according to paragraph 3) may decide instead of the Chamber or Senate in accordance with Section 87a (2) VwGO.
Financial jurisdiction
For the proceedings before the tax courts , § 6 FGO provides that the Senate can transfer the legal dispute to a single judge if the matter is neither actually nor legally particularly difficult and has no fundamental significance.
Social justice
The social courts generally decide in the first instance through chambers that are made up of a professional judge and two honorary judges as assessors, see § 12 SGG. In the higher-level instances, senates decide which are made up of three professional judges and two honorary judges.
