Hamburg (dpa / lno) – Hamburg has asked the federal government to extend the “Pact for the Rule of Law”, which expires at the end of the year, to finance new judges and public prosecutors in Germany. “In this particular situation with the pandemic, we depend on the federal government to continue to make its contribution,” said Justice Senator Anna Gallina (Greens) on Wednesday when presenting a position paper.
The design of a follow-up agreement was deliberately kept flexible. “But in the end it must be clear that at least the volume (…) has to be maintained. We need that,” emphasized Gallina. All jobs would have to be retained, there should be no reduction due to a lack of financial possibilities.
At the beginning of 2019, after long discussions between the federal government and the federal states, it was agreed that the federal states would create 2,000 new jobs nationwide in the overburdened judiciary. In return, they will receive two tranches of 220 million euros from the federal government until the end of 2021. According to financial senator Andreas Dressel (SPD), this means around 2.5 million euros a year for Hamburg. According to Gallina, Hamburg has increased the number of jobs by 250 to 980 since 2015 and created a good 50 jobs as part of the “Pact for the Rule of Law”.
“It’s about how we can keep the judiciary capable of acting in the next few years,” explained Dressel. Currently, the costs could also be reduced because of the pandemic-related options with the debt brake. But when the exemptions expire, things will be tight. Specifically, Hamburg is about the years 2023 and 2024. Dressel pointed out that the states are also negotiating support with the federal government in other areas – for example, daycare financing, the mobility transition or the future of the municipalities. The judiciary shouldn’t fall behind. It is indispensable for the functioning of a community.
Gallina and Dressel received support from the judiciary itself. “The greater the uncertainty in society, the more important a functioning rule of law is,” emphasized the President of the Hamburg State Labor Court, Helmut Nause, also with a view to the corona pandemic. But this can only be managed with sufficient staff.
The President of the Hamburg Constitutional Court, Birgit Vosskühler, expressed a similar opinion: “It would be very fatal if this financial situation resulted in the positions that we have just laboriously created disappear again or are temporarily not filled.”
In view of the growing number of tasks and the impending wave of retirements, the German Association of Judges (DRB) called for a follow-up agreement that will continue the increase in staff until 2025 and also focus on digitization. “The corona pandemic has revealed that there is still a lot of catching up to do with network infrastructure, IT equipment, electronic court files and online negotiations,” said Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn.
The German Bar Association (DAV) called for lawyers to be included in the pact as part of the administration of justice and for the technical equipment of the judiciary to be significantly improved. “The necessary follow-up agreement to the pact for the rule of law must therefore enable a correspondingly flexible use of the funds,” explained DAV President Edith Kindermann.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210217-99-479857 / 3
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