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

of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof). In criminal cases, one of the first three courts has original
jurisdiction, depending on the nature of the crime. In civil proceedings, jurisdiction is vested in
either the local or regional court.
The Labor Courts handle disputes arising from employment contracts and industrial
relations, including collective bargaining agreements. There are three levels: labor courts, labor
courts of appeals (both administered of state level), and the Federal Labor Court
(Bundesarbeitsgericht). The Administrative Courts also have three levels: the administrative
courts and administrative courts of appeals, both on the state level, and, finally, the Federal
Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht). They handle proceedings under
administrative law that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the social courts, the finance courts,
the ordinary courts (e.g., cases of official liability), or the constitutional courts. The Social
Courts rule on all disputes concerned with social security. They also have three levels: local,
appellate and the Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht). Finally, the fiscal courts
(Finanzgerichtsbarkeit), which consist of only one level of state courts and the Federal Finance
Court (Bundesfinanzhof), deal with taxation and related matters.
Official Websites:
66
Federal Government:
http://www.bundesregierung.de
Lower Chamber of Federal Government:
http://www.bundestag.de
Higher Chamber of Federal Government:
http://www.bundesrat.de
Federal President:
http://www.bundespraesident.de
Constitutional Court:
http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de
Federal Courts:
http://www.bundesgerichtshof.de
http://www.bundesarbeitsgericht.de
http://www.bundessozialgericht.de
http://www.bverwg.de
II. CITATION GUIDE
http://www.bundesfinanzhof.de
Federal Patent Court:
http://www.bpatg.de
Attorney General:
http://www.generalbundesanwalt.de
Federal Ministry of Justice:
http://www.bmj.bund.de
Federal Law:
http://bundesrecht.juris.de/bundesrecht
http://www.jura.uni-muenster.de
http://www.jura.uni-sb.de
Federal Gazette:
http://www.bundesgesetzblatt.de
Citation is quite uniform although there are neither binding rules regarding citation nor a national
citation manual in Germany.
0.1 Common Abbreviations
Common abbreviations in German citation practice include Article (“§”, “Artikel” or “Art.”),
paragraph (“Absatz” or “Abs.”), and clause (“Satz” or “S.”). The “Abs.” and “S.” symbols are
optional (i.e., “Art. 1 Abs. 1 S. 1” = “Art 1 I 1”).