As in most countries, Germany has a standard way of citing its legal codes and case law; an essentially identical system of citation is also used in Austria.
There is, however, no authoritative citation style similar in importance to the Bluebook (in the United States) or OSCOLA (in the United Kingdom). Legal journals use self-made "house" citation styles, and the most influential style guide probably are the Author's Instructions of the Neue Juristische Wochenschrift, arguably the most important legal journal in Germany.[ when? ] [1]
As an example, the famous or notorious Paragraph 175, which formerly made male homosexuality a crime in Germany, would most properly be cited in an English-language text as "§ 175 StGB (Germany)". "§" simply denotes "paragraph" (and can be pluralized as "§§"). "StGB" stands for Strafgesetzbuch (penal code); other similar usages would be "BGB" ( Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch , the Civil Code) and "ZPO" (Zivilprozessordnung, the Civil Procedure Code). Paragraphs with the same number from these different codes are completely unrelated; thus, § 175 ZPO has nothing to do with § 175 StGB.
Finally, unless the context is clear, "(Germany)" may be added to distinguish this from the similar system of citation for Austria; again, paragraphs with the same number in German and Austrian legal codes are unrelated, except in laws that were introduced in Austria with the Anschluss in 1938, such as the AktG (Stock Corporations Act), which, of course, has frequently been amended in different ways in both countries since then. A method that is sometimes employed in Austrian legal writing to distinguish between Austrian and German law is to add a lower case "d" for Germany (German : Deutschland) and an "ö" for Austria (German : Österreich) before the abbreviation of the respective code, e.g. "dAktG" and "öAktG" referring to the German and Austrian stock corporations acts.
Within such a paragraph, there may be numerous Absätze (singular Absatz, i.e. "passages", "sections"). The Absätze are cited as "Abs.". Thus, a particular portion of Paragraph 175 might be cited as "§ 175 Abs. 2 StGB (Germany)". Texts addressed at a purely legal audience commonly make use of an informal shorthand, abbreviating Absätze for example as Roman numerals. Thus, in such texts, this same provision might be cited simply as "§ 175 II StGB" or even "§ 175 II" depending on the amount of available context. In Austria, the Absätze are usually cited as "Abs" (without a dot), e.g. "§ 1295 Abs 2 ABGB". Occasionally parentheses are used instead, e.g. "§ 1295 (2) ABGB. Numbered lists are cited with a capital "Z" (standing for Ziffer i.e. number), e.g. "§ 73 Abs 1 Z 4 BWG". By contrast, in Germany, the abbreviation "Nr." (standing for Nummer i.e. number) is used instead.
In non-legal contexts, for example in text formatting, the word Absatz would normally be equivalent to English "paragraph", but in legal usage an Absatz is a subdivision of a Paragraph; we must either use the German word or translate it as "sub-paragraph".
The Basic Law (constitution) of Germany is divided into Artikel or articles, not sections. To cite the Basic Law a notation like "Artikel 1 GG" or "Art. 1 GG", where GG stands for Grundgesetz, basic law, is used.
The Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Strafsachen (cited as "BGHSt") covers criminal case law in the present-day Federal Republic of Germany that was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof). Case law from German unification (1871) until 1945, decided by the Empire Court of Justice (Reichsgericht), would be in the Entscheidungen des Reichsgerichts in Strafsachen (cited as "RGSt"). Similarly, decisions in private law can be found in the Entscheidungen des Bundesgerichtshofs in Zivilsachen ("BGHZ") and Entscheidungen des Reichsgerichts in Zivilsachen ("RGZ"). E.g. BGHZ 65, 182 would refer to a case published in BGHZ, volume 65, beginning at page 182.
Alternatively, cases may be cited to law reviews where they have been rendered, e.g. BGH, NJW 1982, 473. Ideally, the date of the court decision and the docket number should be given before the citation, but whether this is required usually depends on the publisher.
A third type (yet not too widely spread) is the citation by using the European Case Law Identifier, a ″neutral″ citation system introduced by the Council of the European Union in 2011, which Germany is participating in.
It is not general practice to cite case names, since the names of parties are anonymized. However, in some areas of law (e.g. corporate law), where the name of a party (usually the company involved in the case) is generally known, some cases have gained notoriety under that name (e.g. the Holzmüller decision). Other cases, especially in criminal law, have become known under names emphasising the peculiar story that made them notorious, such as the Cat King Case or the Guben Prosecution . In such cases, it may be helpful for readers to render that name, even though it is entirely optional and such case names are not official.
Similar rules apply to Austrian case law. Decisions by the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) can be cited to the official collections (SZ for private law and SSt for criminal law) or to law reviews. In the case of the official collections, other than in Germany, the cite normally does not refer to the page number, but to the number of the case, e.g. SZ 82/123 (referring to case number 123 in volume 82 of the official collection of private law cases).
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case citations are formatted differently in different jurisdictions, but generally contain the same key information.
The Federal Court of Justice is the highest court in the system of ordinary jurisdiction in Germany, founded in 1950. It has its seat in Karlsruhe with two panels being situated in Leipzig since 1997 and 2020, respectively. It is the supreme court in all matters of criminal law and private law. A decision handed down by the BGH can be reversed only by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany on constitutionality grounds.
Paragraph 175 was a provision of the German Criminal Code from 15 May 1871 to 10 March 1994. It made homosexual acts between males a crime, and in early revisions the provision also criminalized bestiality as well as forms of prostitution and underage sexual abuse. All in all, around 140,000 men were convicted under the law. The law had always been controversial and inspired the first homosexual movement, which called for its repeal.
Abortion in Germany is illegal, but not punishable during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy under the condition of mandatory counseling, and it is permitted later in pregnancy in cases that the pregnancy poses an important danger to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman. In the case that the abortion is because rape it is legal in the first 12 weeks without mandatory counseling. Otherwise in the illegal, but not punishable case, the woman needs to receive counseling, called Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung, at least three days prior to the abortion and must take place at a state-approved centre, which afterwards gives the applicant a Beratungsschein. Abortions that do not meet these conditions are punishable.
The General civil code is the Civil Code of Austria, which after about 40 years of preparatory work was published on 1 June 1811 and came into force on 1 January 1812. Karl Anton Freiherr von Martini and Franz von Zeiller were the leading drafters at the earlier and later stages of the draft. Comparable to the Napoleonic code, it was based on the ideals of freedom and equality before the law. It was divided into three major segments, following the Roman law segregation methods. It was modernized during the First World War. ABGB continues to be the basic civil code of Austria to this day and it is also still the basic civil code of Liechtenstein. Besides Austria, its influence persists in other successor states of Austria-Hungary. In the Czech part of Czechoslovakia it was in effect until 1951, although it had been novelized multiple times, until it was replaced by the civil code from 1950. In southern Poland it was partially in effect until the end of 1946. In Bosnia and Herzegovina it was partially introduced after 1878, and some parts are still in use, even after this country's independence.
Piercing the corporate veil or lifting the corporate veil is a legal decision to treat the rights or duties of a corporation as the rights or liabilities of its shareholders. Usually a corporation is treated as a separate legal person, which is solely responsible for the debts it incurs and the sole beneficiary of the credit it is owed. Common law countries usually uphold this principle of separate personhood, but in exceptional situations may "pierce" or "lift" the corporate veil.
The German nobility and royalty were status groups of the medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the German-speaking area, until the beginning of the 20th century. Historically, German entities that recognized or conferred nobility included the Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), the German Confederation (1814–1866) and the German Empire (1871–1918). Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in the German Empire had a policy of expanding his political base by ennobling rich businessmen who had no noble ancestors. The nobility flourished during the dramatic industrialization and urbanization of Germany after 1850. Landowners modernized their estates, and oriented their business to an international market. Many younger sons were positioned in the rapidly growing national and regional bureaucracies, as well as in the military. They acquired not only the technical skills but the necessary education in high prestige German universities that facilitated their success. Many became political leaders of new reform organizations such as agrarian leagues, and pressure groups. Catholic nobility played a major role in the new Centre party, while Protestant nobles were especially active in the Conservative party.
Erwin Konrad Eduard Bumke was the last president of the Reichsgericht, the supreme civil and criminal court of the German Reich, serving from 1929 to 1945. As such, he should according to the Weimar Constitution have succeeded Paul von Hindenburg as the President of Germany upon the latter's death in August 1934 and thus the Head of State of Nazi Germany. The Law on the Head of State of the German Reich, passed by the Nazi-controlled Reichstag, unconstitutionally prevented that by combining the presidency with the chancellorship, making Adolf Hitler the undisputed Führer of Germany.
Capital punishment in Germany has been abolished for all crimes, and is now explicitly prohibited by constitution. It was abolished in West Germany in 1949, in the Saarland in 1956, and East Germany in 1987. The last person executed in Germany was the East German Werner Teske, who was executed at Leipzig Prison in 1981.
The German Strafgesetzbuch in section § 86a outlaws "use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations" outside the contexts of "art or science, research or teaching". The law does not name the individual symbols to be outlawed, and there is no official exhaustive list. However, the law has primarily been used to outlaw Fascist, Nazi, communist, and Islamic extremist symbols. The law was adopted during the Cold War and notably affected the Communist Party of Germany, which was banned as unconstitutional in 1956, the Socialist Reich Party and several small far-right parties.
German company law (Gesellschaftsrecht) is an influential legal regime for companies in Germany. The primary form of company is the public company or Aktiengesellschaft (AG). A private company with limited liability is known as a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH). A partnership is called a Kommanditgesellschaft (KG).
The Federal Constitutional Court is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law of Germany. Since its inception with the beginning of the post-World War II republic, the court has been located in the city of Karlsruhe, which is also the seat of the Federal Court of Justice.
Johannes Platschek is a German legal scholar. His research interests include Hellenistic Legal History, Roman Civil Procedure, ancient civil law appearing in non-legal sources, and the textual criticism of the Roman jurists writings.
The Supreme Court of Justice is the final appellate court of Austria for civil and criminal cases. Along with the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court, it is one of Austria's three courts of last resort.
Dieter Medicus was a German jurist. Until his retirement in 1994 he was professor of Private Law and history of Ancient law at the University of Munich.
Transgender rights in the Federal Republic of Germany are regulated by the Transsexuellengesetz since 1980, and indirectly affected by other laws like the Abstammungsrecht. The law initially required transgender people to undergo gender-affirming surgery in order to have key identity documents changed. This has since been declared unconstitutional. The German government has pledged to replace the Transsexuellengesetz with the Selbstbestimmungsgesetz, which would remove the financial and bureaucratic hurdles necessary for legal gender and name changes. Discrimination protections on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation vary across Germany, but discrimination in employment and the provision of goods and services is in principle banned countrywide.
Stephan Harbarth is the President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (Bundesverfassungsgericht), former German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). From 2009 until 2018 he served as member of the Bundestag. On 22 November 2018 he was elected to the Federal Constitutional Court by the Bundestag. He succeeded Ferdinand Kirchhof and serves in the court's first senate. On 23 November 2018, one day after his election to the court, he was elected Vice President of the Federal Constitutional Court by the Bundesrat. In this capacity, he is chairman of the first senate.
The Reichsoberhandelsgericht, abbreviated to ROHG, was a German supreme court in Leipzig primarily dealing with appeals concerning commercial law. It was established in 1869 as the Bundesoberhandelsgericht of the North German Confederation and was named Reichsoberhandelsgericht after the establishment of the German Empire in 1871. In 1879, the court was replaced by the Reichsgericht.
The Oberappellationsgericht der vier Freien Städte, since 1867 the Oberappellationsgericht der Freien Hansestädte, seated in Lübeck was an appeals court of the German Confederation and the North German Confederation with territorial jurisdiction for Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Lübeck. Frankfurt was removed from the court's jurisdiction in 1867 after its annexation by Prussia. In 1870 the court lost its subject-matter jurisdiction for commercial law to the Reichsoberhandelsgericht and was altogether abolished in 1879. The court was considered to be the most influential German court of its time due to its exemplary combination of theory and practice.
Hermann Karl August Weinkauff was a German jurist. He served in several positions as a judge and later became the first President of the Federal Court of Justice of West Germany.