Lifetime principle
The lifetime principle is one of the traditional principles of the German professional civil service and, as such, is protected by constitution under Article 33 (5) of the Basic Law.
According to the principle of life, civil servants are appointed for life; early release from office is excluded - except in special cases. The lifetime principle serves together with the alimentation principle to secure the independence of the civil servant. The lifetime principle ensures that the civil servant cannot be dismissed from office arbitrarily or at the discretion of his superior, but that the civil servant is personally independent in his work. The lifetime principle protects not only the civil servant status of the person, but also the specific office assigned to him.
According to the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, however, it does not follow from the lifetime principle that removal from the service would in principle only be possible through a judge's verdict, so that - as in Baden-Württemberg - the civil service relationship can also be terminated by an immediately enforceable administrative act by the superior, provided that subsequent legal protection is provided the disciplinary courts is possible.
The lifetime principle does not generally prohibit temporary civil servants, but they are a narrow exception. Examples of civil servant relationships on a temporary basis are, for example, election officials whose civil servant relationship is limited in advance for this reason. Even political officials are usually civil servants on time, as these officials must always represent the will of the government and its activities with the objectives of the government in line should be.
A violation of the lifetime principle, since Article 33 (5) of the Basic Law is a fundamental right , can be criticized with a constitutional complaint before the Federal Constitutional Court. On April 24, 2018 , the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on a submission from the Federal Administrative Court that it is not compatible with the principle of life if university chancellors in the state of Brandenburg are only appointed for a limited period.