Court organization in the Saar area
The court organization in the Saar area existed from 1919 to 1935.
General
After the First World War , the Saar area was separated from the German Empire against the will of the population and placed under the administration of the League of Nations . With regard to the Saarland courts, the Versailles Peace Treaty stated :
- “(1) The civil and criminal courts existing in the Saar Basin area are retained.
- (2) A court for civil and criminal matters shall be set up by the government committee, which shall form the appeal body for the aforementioned courts and shall rule in the factual areas for which these courts have no jurisdiction.
- (3) The internal constitution and jurisdiction of this court are regulated by the government committee.
- (4) The judicial decisions are made on behalf of the government committee. "
- (Section 25 of the Annex to Articles 45 to 50)
The courts therefore remained, but the changed demarcation led to some postponements. In addition, a Supreme Court was set up for the Saar area.
The government commission of the Saar region
The government commission of the Saar area formed the government of the Saar area. There the department of the member of the government commission for justice, culture and education had the function of a justice ministry and thus the technical supervision of the ordinary courts of the Saar area.
The Supreme Court
The Saar Supreme Court (Cour Suprême de Justice) with its seat in Saarlouis took over the tasks that were previously performed by the higher regional courts and the Reichsgericht . It was established by ordinance of January 5, 1921 and initially had a senate each for civil and criminal matters. A second civil senate was later set up.
The Supreme Court was responsible for appeals against final judgments of the regional court in civil matters and the criminal chambers of the first instance in criminal matters as well as appeals against judgments of the regional court. As a result, civil proceedings that the regional court ruled in the second instance could no longer be reviewed in a third instance. The Supreme Court was the first and last instance for the decision in cases of high treason and treason, as well as in the cases assigned to it by special law.
district Court
The Saarbrücken Regional Court was retained, but lost jurisdiction over the parts of its jurisdiction outside of it. The Prussian district court districts Baumholder and Grumbach now belonged to the Koblenz district court , which was also responsible for the former principality of Birkenfeld . The District Court of Homburg , the District Court of Blieskastel and the District Court of Merzig were subordinated to the Saarbrücken Regional Court. In addition, however, there were the Merzig District Court (from the Trier District Court) and the three Bavarian District Courts Blieskastel, Homburg and St. Ingbert.
The district court had eight civil chambers. Originally two criminal chambers were set up. Another criminal chamber was set up later. With an ordinance of May 20, 1933, the regional court created "fast courts" for the immediate processing of political crimes. By ordinance of July 15, 1924, a customs chamber was established. In addition, there was a jury at the regional court that consisted of three judges and twelve jurors.
District courts
The following local courts existed in the Saar area:
| District Court | Seat | Previous assignment | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saarbrücken District Court | Saarbrücken | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| District court Sulzbach | Sulzbach | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| District court Völklingen | Völklingen | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| District court Lebach | Lebach | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| Saarlouis District Court | Saarlouis | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| Neunkirchen District Court | Neunkirchen | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| District court Ottweiler | Ottweiler | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| Tholey District Court | Tholey | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | |
| District court St. Wendel | St. Wendel | Prussia, LG Saarbrücken | with a changed district |
| Merzig District Court | Merzig | Prussia, LG Trier | |
| District court Homburg | Homburg | Bavaria, District Court Zweibrücken | with a changed district |
| District court St. Ingbert | St. Ingbert | Bavaria, District Court Zweibrücken | |
| District court Blieskastel | Blieskastel | Bavaria, District Court Zweibrücken | with a changed district |
The area of responsibility of the local courts corresponded to the previous status. Newly added were the revaluation offices, the rent settlement offices and the juvenile courts, which were set up at the local courts.
Due to the introduction of the franc currency, the amounts up to which the local courts were competent were redefined in francs. In civil cases, the local courts ruled on amounts in dispute of up to 3,000 francs. Since this accounted for only half of the amount in the Reich in terms of value, the regional court was burdened significantly more.
Administrative jurisdiction
The Administrative Committee and the Higher Administrative Court were responsible for matters of administrative jurisdiction. The administrative committee took over the function of the district committee in Trier for the Prussian parts of the country and that of the Senate of the Chamber of the Interior of the District Government in Speyer for the Bavarian parts. He divided into two departments for the former Prussian and Bavarian parts of the country.
As the highest authority in administrative matters, the higher administrative court decided. Organizationally, it was linked to the Supreme Court and consisted of the President, six judges from the Supreme Court and five senior administrators. It replaced the Prussian Higher Administrative Court and the Bavarian Administrative Court . For questions as to which court is competent in administrative matters, the jurisdiction conflict court for the Saar area was there. It consisted of four judges from the Supreme Court and three members of the Higher Administrative Court. The President of the Government Commission appointed the members of this - rarely meeting - court.
Special dishes
The mining court and the merchant and commercial courts existed in special courts in the Saar area. There was no establishment of labor courts and financial courts like in the Reich in the Saar area.
Military courts
The ordinance of June 29, 1921 stipulated that the French military courts could also bring proceedings against civilians. This confirmed the occupation law regulation of the post-war period. With the withdrawal of the French occupation troops, this regulation became irrelevant.
literature
- Hans Westhoff: Law and Administration in the Saar Area, Trier 1934, pp. 25 ff., 92 ff.