Bremen Regional Court
The Bremen Regional Court is a regional court (LG) and belongs to the ordinary jurisdiction . It is the only regional court in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and in the district of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Bremen .
History of the Bremen Regional Court
Until well into the 19th century, Bremen's city law was governed by the medieval constitution, according to which administration and justice were not separated. Rather, both were in the hands of the Senate of the Free City of Bremen. Only in the aftermath of the revolution of 1848/49 was the constitution of 1849 in Bremen. In this a "judges college" of 12 elected professional judges was provided. Out of consideration for the previous unity of administration of justice and administration, the senators were given the option of leaving the Senate and becoming members of this judicial body. Six senators and one senate syndic, who had doctorates in law, took the opportunity to join the college of judges.
The judges' college had been given a large degree of independence. It even elected its president, who thus became chairman of the Bremen Higher Court and later President of the Regional Court . The college also elected the directors of the courts and the electors for the election of judges . The background to this great independence was the emergence of the judges panel from the Senate. The later reactionary constitution of 1854 did nothing to change this order . The former Senator Gerhard Caesar was the second president of the college from 1850 to 1864 . According to the Constitution of the German Confederation, the court of appeal of the four Free Cities with its seat in Lübeck was responsible.
Empire
On October 1, 1879, the so-called Reich Justice Acts ( Courts Constitution Act , Code of Civil Procedure , Code of Criminal Procedure , Bankruptcy Code and Lawyers' Act ) came into force, and the former historical Bremen courts were replaced by the regional court and the district courts of Bremen and Bremerhaven . A number of the tasks of the college of judges were transferred to the judicial administration that was now to be formed. The college still had a decisive influence on the choice of judges. New judicial posts were awarded by an electoral committee to be filled in equal parts by the college of judges, the senate and the Bremen citizenship (the Bremen state parliament). Furthermore, the college elected its district court president and the court directors.
National Socialism
National Socialism led to the standardization of the judiciary. For Bremen, this meant that the previously practiced self-administration of the judiciary was ended. On March 31, 1936, Adolf Meyer, the last regional court president elected in accordance with the Bremen custom through the trust of his co-judges in his office, retired. His successor was personally introduced to his office by Roland Freisler .
A special court also met at the regional court in Bremen . Between 1940 and 1945, 403 proceedings for political offenses and 159 proceedings for non-political offenses were carried out before the Bremen Special Court. The case of the young Polish slave laborer Walerian Wróbel , who, in the hope of being sent back to Poland, set fire to a straw wall without causing much damage, became particularly well known. He was sentenced to death before the special court.
post war period
On June 15, 1945, the American occupation authorities commissioned the lawyer Diedrich Lahusen to take on the business of a district court president. He only resigned from this office on February 14, 1951. During this time he continued to work as a lawyer. On August 2, 1945, the regional court was reopened by an ordinance on the reopening of the courts in the state territory of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. However, the extent of the former extensive self-administration of the Bremen courts could no longer be achieved.
The building
From 1879 the seat of the regional court was initially the building of the old stock exchange . In October 1891 the foundation stone was ceremoniously laid for a new courthouse between Buchtstraße, Violenstraße and Ostertorstraße in the old town of Bremen .
This property had remained largely undeveloped until then. Although it was located within the old city fortifications, it originally did not belong to the city, but to the diocese of Bremen . It only became property of the city of Bremen with the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss .
The building, known today as the Old Court House , was built in the historicist style based on the design of the Oldenburg architects Ludwig Klingenberg and Hugo Weber, which emerged from an architectural competition . The building was opened on September 30, 1895. It originally housed the entire Bremen courts ( district court and regional court, commercial court), the public prosecutor's office and a remand prison. It remained despite the heavy bomb damage in the Bremen city in World War II largely undamaged. The old court house has been connected to the new building of the district court by a glass bridge since October 29, 1961 .
The remand prison is now in the Oslebshausen correctional facility . The old court house has been a listed building since 1992 . The public prosecutor's office has been housed in the former building of the remand prison since March 3, 1994 after renovations. The address of the regional court is Domsheide 16, 28195 Bremen .
architecture
The facade of the courthouse is richly decorated with decorative ornamentation and allegories , as it was built in the historicist era . The design effort is highest on the portal front to the Domsheide. On the main pedestal of the balustrade above the entrance arches there are sculptures of Emperor Otto the Great as the lender of Bremen's market rights and of Emperor Wilhelm I as head of the Second Empire, created by the sculptor Karl Gundelach in Hanover. Between them stand the four mayors of Büren who are important for the codification of Bremen law, Heinrich Krefting , Heinrich Meyer and Johann Smidt , created by the Everding Brothers workshop ( Wilhelm Everding and Friedrich Everding ) in Bremen.
The themes (from left to right) of play, dead sleep, arrest, condemnation and pardon of children depicted like putti are symbolized in the reliefs of the arches of the coupled windows between the still images. Rudolf Lauer made these reliefs. In addition, mainly Christian traditions were used for the architectural decoration, e.g. B. The Ten Commandments , which are in the parapets of the windows of the jury court room. These were covered up during the time of National Socialism , because according to the National Socialists, the tablets of the Jewish Moses did not belong in a courthouse. On February 26, 1936, writes Fritz Peters in his “Bremer Chronik”, the panels were to be removed “on a higher order”. Its destruction was originally planned, which was prevented by two people involved on their own initiative. Instead, the order was given to cover the panels with lightweight concrete slabs. Soon after the end of the war, Mayor Wilhelm Kaisen was made aware of the facts on September 17, 1945 and asked to remove the cover to symbolize that after the end of National Socialist rule, law and order would be restored.
Inside the building there is a large, colored glazed window with a representation of Justitia in the stairwell . This was also removed during the time of National Socialist rule. The reason for this was the blindfolded eyes of Justitia, which symbolizes that justice judges without regard to the person. This glass picture could also be used again after the war. Another highlight is the jury court room with its rich decoration.
The building jewelry was deliberately carried out in elaborate craftsmanship, as the Bremen craftsmen were to be given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.
Memorial plaques
In the stairwell on the side walls of the pedestal between the first and second floors there are two memorial plaques for members of the judiciary who fell in the First World War from the Bremen district court. It is noteworthy that on these boards it is not the judges but the clerks who are named first.
On the first floor above the entrance to the lawyer's room there is a plaque from the Bremen Bar Association for the Jewish colleagues who were excluded during the Nazi era.
In front of the entrance to the penalty chamber there is a plaque with the following wording:
- During the National Socialist tyranny, 54 people were sentenced to death in this building by the Bremen Special Court. They were quickly forgotten - one of them was the only 17-year-old Pole Walerjan Wrobel. Your suffering admonishes us.
Transport links
The courthouse is in the immediate vicinity of the Domsheide stop. The Domsheide represents a junction for local public transport. Accordingly, it is the stop of many bus and tram lines.
Jurisdiction and jurisdiction
The judicial district includes the entire state of Bremen with its cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The judicial district thus covers 419 km² and more than 663,000 people live in it.
The regional court is responsible for all matters legally assigned to the regional courts. These are criminal and civil cases. Internally, jurisdiction is based on the schedule of responsibilities published on the court's website.
In 2015 there were 97 employees at the Bremen Regional Court.
Higher / lower courts
The District Court of Bremen is superior as the competent Court of Appeal , the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Bremen , are subordinate to the district courts of Bremen , Bremen-Blumenthal and Bremerhaven .
Meaningful judgments
- A murder trial for neglecting a child ("Kevin Trial") took place in front of the Bremen Regional Court in 2007/2008 .
- In civil law, the Bremen Regional Court was noticed by a ruling on May 24, 2006 on gas price increases. The judgment received regional attention.
- On October 25, 1999, a criminal trial took place before the Bremen Regional Court about 1997, again divided parts of the Amber Room (a mosaic and a chest of drawers).
- The criminal trial for the Bremen bunker murder was tried twice (2001 and 2002/2003) at the LG Bremen.
See also
literature
- Otto Fritz: The Latin inscriptions of the regional court building in Bremen , in: Schriften der Wittheit zu Bremen, Vol. 28, 1984, pp. 39-53.
- Norbert Larisch: Bremen court house . Hauschild Verlag, Bremen 1985, ISBN 3-920699-69-6 .
- Walter Richter: 100 Years of the Court of Justice in Bremen , The Senator for Justice and the Constitution of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (ed.), WMIT-Druck-u.-Verlag-GmbH, 1998, ISBN 3-929542-11-0 .
- The new courthouse in Bremen . In: Deutsche Bauzeitung . Vol. 30, No. 28 (April 4, 1896), pp. 173-175 (first part), No. 30 (April 11, 1896), pp. 185-189 (second part). ( PDF of the annual volume, 132 MB)
Web links
- Official website of the Bremen Regional Court
- Overview of the jurisdiction of the Bremen Regional Court
Individual evidence
- ^ Norbert Larisch: Bremen court house. Hauschild Verlag, Bremen 1985, page 9.
- ^ Monument database of the LfD
- ↑ a b Rolf Kirsch: Three administrative buildings of historicism. Post house, courthouse and police house. History and conservation measures. In: Denkmalpflege in Bremen , issue 14 (2017).
- ↑ Erika Thies: Look at it. The ten commandments at the courthouse. In: Weser-Kurier of March 2, 2015
- ↑ Silke Helwig: In the name of the people . In: Weser-Kurier from December 28, 2015.
- ↑ Katrin Schmiedekampf, Kevin Trial - "There were much more problematic cases" , Spiegel-Online of March 7, 2008
- ^ Reports from Radio Bremen on the case ( Memento from April 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Az. 8 O 1065/05 ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Court overturns gas price increase Spiegel-Online from May 24, 2006
- ^ Court thwarted gas price increase , Sueddeutsche Zeitung of May 24, 2006
- ↑ tagesspiegel.de: Attempted serious fraud on behalf of a stranger
Constitutional jurisdiction : StGH Bremen
Ordinary jurisdiction : Hanseatisches OLG Bremen | LG Bremen | AG Bremen | AG Bremen-Blumenthal | AG Bremerhaven
Labor jurisdiction : LAG Bremen | ArbG Bremen-Bremerhaven
Financial jurisdiction : FG Bremen
Coordinates: 53 ° 4 ′ 27.6 " N , 8 ° 48 ′ 37.5" E