https://legal.excellentwiki.com/germany/courts-and-judiciary/ Recent content in Courts and Judiciary on ExcellentWiki - Legal Encyclopedia Hugo en-US Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://legal.excellentwiki.com/germany/courts-and-judiciary/german-court-system/ Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://legal.excellentwiki.com/germany/courts-and-judiciary/german-court-system/ <h2 id="constitutional-framework-and-the-five-pillars-of-justice">Constitutional Framework and the Five Pillars of Justice</h2> <p>The German court system is structured on principles set forth in the Basic Law (Grundgesetz, GG), adopted in 1949 as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. Article 92 GG vests the judicial power in the Federal Constitutional Court, in the federal courts provided for by the Basic Law, and in the courts of the Länder (the sixteen federal states). A distinctive feature of the German system is the division of jurisdiction into five specialized court systems, each with its own hierarchy culminating in a federal supreme court. Article 95 GG establishes the five supreme courts: the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) for ordinary civil and criminal matters, the Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht), the Federal Finance Court (Bundesfinanzhof), the Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht), and the Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht). Where these courts disagree on a fundamental question of law, the Joint Senate of the Supreme Courts (Gemeinsamer Senat der obersten Gerichtshöfe) resolves the conflict.</p>