Pact for the rule of law
The “Pact for the Rule of Law” is a political agreement between the federal government and the federal states in which both sides have committed themselves to improving the equipment of the judiciary , law enforcement authorities and the police in Germany .
history
After the 2017 federal election , the CDU , CSU and SPD agreed in their coalition agreement under the heading “Pact for the rule of law” to take various measures to “keep the rule of law capable of acting” and to “strengthen trust in democracy based on the rule of law” . However, due to the division of competencies between the federal government and the federal states specified by the Basic Law, the federal government cannot implement the planned measures on its own. For this it needs the cooperation of the federal states.
On January 31, 2019, Chancellor Angela Merkel reached an agreement with the Prime Ministers of the federal states on the details of the “Pact for the Rule of Law”.
Agreed measures
The focus of the “Pact” is on improving the staffing of the judiciary and the police. To this end, the following measures were agreed:
- Creation of 71 additional posts at the Attorney General
- Strengthening the Federal Court of Justice by setting up another civil senate in Karlsruhe and another criminal senate in Leipzig
- additional posts for press and public relations work at the Federal Court of Justice, Federal Fiscal Court and Federal Administrative Court
- Appointment of 2,000 additional judges and prosecutors by December 31, 2021
- Hiring of the office staff necessary to support the judges and public prosecutors
- Creation of 7,500 additional posts for police tasks by December 31, 2021
The federal government wants to support the federal states financially in creating the additional judges and public prosecutors. As soon as the first 1000 jobs have been created, the federal states are to receive 110 million euros from the federal government. A second tranche of 110 million will be made available when all 2000 positions have been set up. From a legal point of view, the support is to be provided “within the framework of the vertical distribution of sales tax”, i.e. by means of a change in the law that temporarily grants the federal states a higher share of sales tax income.
In addition to the intended improvements in judicial and police personnel, the "Pact" includes the following technical, financial, legal and organizational measures:
- Development of a communication interface for the seamless exchange of data within the police as well as between the police, public prosecutors and courts
- financial security for the IT adjustments required for the “Police 2020” project
- Accelerating and simplifying judicial procedures through changes to the procedural rules, in particular judicial asylum procedures
- Strengthening victim protection, especially after terrorist attacks, through fast and unbureaucratic support for victims
- Quality assurance in the administration of justice through specialization and further training of the judiciary
- Expansion of public relations work in the courts
- Creation of a communication, information and documentation forum for the rule of law and the history of law ("Legal Forum")
Reactions
The political agreement was received differently: The German Association of Judges called the conclusion of the “Pact” a “milestone on the way to a future-proof judiciary” and at the same time called for rapid implementation in the federal states. In contrast, the Rhineland-Palatinate Justice Minister Herbert Mertin (FDP) described the pledged 220 million euros as a “drop in the ocean”. Annalena Baerbock , federal chairwoman of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , called on the federal government to provide the federal states with a total of four billion euros over the next ten years to hire judges and public prosecutors.
The political scientist Maximilian Pichl criticized the fact that under the label "Pact for the rule of law" the police should be equipped with more staff and - in the form of extended DNA analysis - should be given additional powers. However, this is not linked to a strengthening of the rule of law, but a strengthening of the state's monopoly on force .
source
- Meeting of the Chancellor with the heads of government of the federal states on January 31, 2019, Item 3: Pact for the rule of law. (PDF) Federal Government, January 31, 2019, accessed on February 1, 2019 .
Web links
- Pact for the rule of law. Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, February 1, 2019, accessed on February 1, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ^ CDU, CSU, SPD: coalition agreement for the 19th legislative period . February 7, 2018, p. 123 ( cdu.de [PDF; 1.7 MB ; accessed on February 1, 2019]).
- ^ Federal government: Federation and states agree - pact for the rule of law is coming. January 31, 2019, accessed February 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Meeting of the Chancellor with the heads of government of the federal states on January 31, 2019, Item 3: Pact for the rule of law. (PDF) Federal Government, January 31, 2019, accessed on February 1, 2019 .
- ^ Gnisa: Rule of Law Pact sealed .
- ^ Justice Minister Herbert Mertin criticizes "Pact for the rule of law" .
- ↑ Elbe-Jeetzel-Zeitung: Greens are demanding four billion euros for hiring judges and public prosecutors' policy .
- ↑ Maximilian Pichl: Dangerous speech about the "rule of law". Legal Tribune Online, February 27, 2019 .
