Seating arrangements
A seating arrangement is the organized arrangement of the occupation of seats at events .
She represents u. a. the importance ( position ) of people in the overall structure, e.g. B. represent dignitaries . A special seating arrangement is the Westphalian row , which should have a conflict-solving effect in the case of discussion participants.
A fixed seating arrangement has existed in courts and plenaries for centuries . In Germany, the following applies to the seating arrangements at court : The judges panel ("the court") is seated in front of the witness stand and the trial observers, along with the honorary judges and assessors and the secretary. In criminal proceedings , the defendant and his defense counsel traditionally sit on the door side, the representative of the public prosecutor's office and possibly a co-plaintiff or the juvenile court assistant on the window side. To justify this, reference is often made to the risk of escape on the window side and the incidence of light. In civil proceedings, some courts and some judges traditionally have seating arrangements for plaintiffs and defendants , while others have a spontaneous seating arrangement . However, a seating arrangement such that the plaintiff sits on the left side as seen by the judge, while the defendant sits on the right side, should predominate. However, this is sometimes handled differently in different judicial districts.
At diplomatic receptions, the seating arrangement is of considerable importance for the minutes ( protocol ranking ), as it expresses the invited personalities according to their ranking in the interests of the host.
In connection with a dinner or other festive meals, the French term placement is still used today. The seating arrangement is marked with place cards , lists or overview boards.
There are also seating arrangements at court , at conferences (student associations, brotherhoods, supranational organizations, etc.) as well as in the Catholic and Protestant Church (deacons, priests, abbots, bishops, etc.).
For the parliamentary seating arrangements see Political Spectrum # Influence on the seating arrangements in parliaments .