Ministry of Justice of Germany
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
 |
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| Federal or Land | Federal |
|---|---|
| Rank | Top tier authority |
| Founded | 1 January 1877 as the „Reichsjustizamt“ |
| Headquarters | Berlin |
| Leader | Brigitte Zypries Bundesministerin der Justiz |
| Public Employees | 620 |
| Website | bmj.bund.de |
The Federal Ministry of Justice is a ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany .
Contents |
[change] History
Germany has five "Classic Ministries", rather like the United Kingdom's "Great Offices of State".
The classic ministries are:
- Justice
- Interior
- Finance
- Defence (or "War" as it was called before World War II) and
- the Foreign Office
The Reich Justice Office was created in 1875. It was a part of the Chancellor's department until 1 January 1877 when it became independent. The first Minister of Justice was appointed in 1919, when the Office of Justice became the Reichsministerium der Justiz of the Weimar Republic
[change] Responsibility
[change] Political
The Federal Minister of Justice heads the Ministry. He has two senior assistants.
- The Parliamentary State Secretary, a member of the Bundestag who acts as a "junior minister"
- The "beamteter Staatssekretär". This is the senior civil servant of the department.
[change] Role
Germany is a federal country. The administration of the justice and criminal prosecution is mainly a matter for the federal states.
The federal ministry's main job is ensuring that federation and the states, and all laws, keep within the "Rule of Law".
The ministry oversees the writing of new laws, and the changing or the abolition of existing laws in these areas:
- Civil law
- Criminal law
- Commercial and Company law
- Copyright and protecting industrial property rights
- Organisation and procedures of the courts (except the Labour and Social Security Courts)
The ministry also oversees the laws about qualifying and working as a judge, prosecutor, lawyer or notary
The ministry has also been responsible for the legal problems after the reunification of Germany. This meant changing a lot of criminal and administrative law. Also professional rehabilitation was needed. Judges and lawyers were just some of the people who were used to working in the communist system, and now had to change.
Furthermore the ministry checks that all laws and ordinances prepared by other ministries do not break the constitution.
The Ministery publishes the official newspaper the "Bundesgesetzblatt" the Federal Law Gazette und "Bundesanzeiger" the Federal Gazette. It also prepares the elections of Judges to the Bundesverfassungsgerichts and the highest level of federal courts.
[change] List of Justice Ministers
| Federal Ministers of Justice since 1949 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | No | Name (life data.) | Term start | Term end |
| FDP | 1 | Dr.Thomas Dehler (1897-1967) | September 20 1949 | October 20 1953 |
| FDP | 2 | Fritz Neumayer (1884-1973) | October 20 1953 | October 16 1956 |
| DP | 3 | Dr. Hans-Joachim von Merkatz (1905-1982) | October 16 1956 | October 29 1957 |
| CSU | 4 | Fritz Schäffer (1888-1967) | October 29 1957 | November 14 1961 |
| FDP | 5 | Dr. Wolfgang Stammberger (1920-1982) | November 14 1961 | November 19 1962 |
| FDP/DVP | 6 | Dr. Ewald Bucher (1914-1991) | December 13 1962 | March 27 1965 |
| CDU | 7 | Dr.Karl Weber (1898-1985) | April 1 1965 | October 26 1965 |
| CSU | 8 | Dr. Richard Jaeger (1913-1998) | October 26 1965 | November 30 1966 |
| SPD | 9 | Dr. Dr. Gustav Heinemann (1899-1976) | December 1 1966 | March 26 1969 |
| SPD | 10 | Prof. Dr. Horst Ehmke (*1927) | March 26 1969 | October 21 1969 |
| SPD | 11 | Gerhard Jahn (1927-1998) | October 22 1969 | May 7 1974 |
| SPD | 12 | Dr. Hans-Jochen Vogel (*1926) | May 16 1974 | January 22 1981 |
| SPD | 13 | Dr. Jürgen Schmude (*1936) | January 22 1981 | October 1 1982 |
| FDP | 14 | Hans A. Engelhard (*1934) | October 4 1982 | January 18 1991 |
| FDP/DVP (Before 1991, independent) |
15 | Dr. Klaus Kinkel (*1936) | January 18 1991 | May 18 1992 |
| FDP | 16 | Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger (*1951) | May 18 1992 | January 17 1996 |
| FDP | 17 | Prof. Dr. Edzard Schmidt-Jortzig (*1941) | January 17 1996 | October 26 1998 |
| SPD | 18 | Prof. Dr. Herta Däubler-Gmelin (*1943) | October 27 1998 | October 22 2002 |
| SPD | 19 | Brigitte Zypries (*1953) | October 22 2002 | |
