Helmut Simon (judge)

Helmut Simon (born January 1, 1922 in Waldbröl - Ruh ; † September 26, 2013 ) was a German lawyer and a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court from 1970 to 1987 .

Life

After graduating from high school, Simon took part in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945 as a soldier in the German Navy. His last rank was first lieutenant. After his release from captivity , he began studying law in Bonn and Basel . This was followed by a doctorate and internship. In 1953, Simon joined the judicial service of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , where he initially worked at the Düsseldorf Regional Court . From 1958 to 1963 he was seconded to the Federal Court of Justice as a research assistant . Simon then worked as a judge at the Düsseldorf Regional Court until 1965 and then at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court .

In 1965 Simon was elected judge at the Federal Court of Justice. From June 1970 he was a judge of the Federal Constitutional Court, of which he was a member of the first senate, re-elected in 1975, until he retired in 1987. The key decisions in which he was involved include the numerus clausus judgment (BVerfGE 43, 291) and the Brokdorf decision (BVerfGE 69, 315). Some of his special votes have also received attention to this day; For example, in 1975, on the occasion of the abortion judgment, he opposed a constitutional duty of the legislature to enact criminal norms (BVerfGE 39, 68).

In addition to his judicial work, Simon was socially engaged in many ways, including as President of the German Evangelical Church Congress in 1977 and 1989 and from 1993 to 2000 as President of the Central Office for Law and Protection of Conscientious Objectors .

Awards

• 1977: Carl von Ossietzky Medal
• 1980: Honorary doctorate from the University of Basel (theological department)
• 1987: Large Cross of Merit with Star and Shoulder Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1988: Karl Barth Prize
• 1989: Hans Böckler Prize

Fonts

• The Legal Thought in German Protestant Theology , Univ. Diss., Bonn 1954.

literature

• Detlef Prinz , Manfred Rexin : Examples of upright gait: Willi Bleicher. Helmut Simon. In the spirit of Carl von Ossietzky , Bund-Verlag GmbH, February 1984, ISBN 3-7663-0601-4
• Almut and Wolf-Dieter Röse: Helmut Simon - law tames violence, an authorized biography , Wichern-Verlag, January 2012, ISBN 978-3-88981-338-1
• Marion Eckertz-Höfer : Federal constitutional judge retired Dr. jur. Dr. theol. hc Helmut Simon on his 90th birthday. German Administrative Gazette 2012, pp. 1–3

Web links

• Literature by and about Helmut Simon in the catalog of the German National Library
• Press release No. 87/2011 of the BVerfG of December 29, 2011 on the occasion of the 90th birthday
• Michael Fiedler-Heinen: Judge at the BVerfG: Dr. Helmut Simon died at the age of 91 ; Oberbergische Volkszeitung, October 1, 2013

Individual evidence

1. ^ The former judge of the Federal Constitutional Court Dr. Dr. hc Helmut Simon has passed away . Press release No. 59/2013. Federal Constitutional Court. September 27, 2013. Accessed on September 27, 2013. Unless otherwise stated, the résumé is based on this source.