Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations - New York ...

GERMANY
Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany)
I. COUNTRY PROFILE (Civil Law)
Germany is a democratic, federal republic made up of 16 States (Länder). The German
Constitution, the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) of 1949 lost its “temporary” status on October 3,
1990, when the five states of the former German Democratic Republic (Deutsche Demokratische
Republik) joined the unified German federation. Germany’s legal system is based on a civil law
tradition.
In Germany’s federal structure, most of the legislative power is concentrated at the
national level, while administrative, judicial, and enforcement functions are exercised principally
at the state level. Executive responsibilities on the federal level lie principally with the Federal
Government (Bundesregierung), which is headed by the Chancellor (Bundeskanzler). The
Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag. The Federal President (Bundespräsident), the official
head of state, is elected for a five-year term—with the possibility of reelection for a consecutive
term—by a Federal Convention (Bundesversammlung) consisting of equal numbers of members
of the Lower House of Parliament (Bundestag) and members elected by the parliaments of the
individual states. The President’s duties are primarily ceremonial.
The Constitution vests the legislative power in a bicameral parliament, consisting of the
Lower House of Parliament, whose members are directly elected by the people every four years,
and the Senate (Bundesrat), who consists of members of the state governments. Most federal law
is initiated by the Federal Government and later voted upon and passed into law, first by the
Bundestag and then the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat, however, has only suspensive veto power
over most legislation. Thus, with the important exception of bills relating to the administrative
responsibilities of the states, the Bundesrat can only delay legislation rather than veto it outright.
The 16 Länder have their own constitutions, each of which establishes a unicameral State
Legislature (generally called Landtag). The State Legislature elects the state’s Prime Minister
(generally called Ministerpräsident), who heads the State’s Government (Landesregierung or
Staatsregierung).
Judicial power is exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court, the federal courts and the
courts of the States.
Judicial functions pertaining to the federal constitution are performed exclusively by the
Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht). State constitutional matters are
generally adjudicated by State Constitutional Courts (Landesverfassungsgericht).
In contrast to some other federative countries, Germany’s state and federal courts are
integrated in a single court system, organized both hierarchically and by subject matter. The
courts are grouped into five categories: Ordinary Courts (Ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit), Labor
Courts (Arbeitsgerichtsbarkeit), Administrative Courts (Verwaltungsgerichtsbarkeit), Social
Courts (Sozialgerichtsbarkeit), and Fiscal Courts (Finanzgerichtsbarkeit). The federation can
establish special courts as well, like the Federal Court for Patent Matters.
The Ordinary Courts are responsible for criminal matters, civil matters (such as
matrimonial or family proceedings and disputes arising under private law such as sale or lease
agreements, as well as commercial and corporate law), and non-contentious legal proceedings,
which include bequests, probate and guardianship matters. There are four levels: local courts,
regional courts, regional courts of appeals (all administered on state level) and the Federal Court
65