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Slow Separation of Church and Judiciary

gbs criticizes religious influence in German courts

bvg_senat2.jpg

BVG, 2. Senate

German courts should maintain a greater distance from religious communities. This is the result of an "open letter" by the Giordano Bruno Stiftung (gbs) to the supreme judicial authorities of the country. The letter was sent in response to an "expert discussion" between judges of the Federal Constitutional Court (BVG) and a delegation of the German Bishops' Conference that took place in January 2011.

Unfortunately, the "constitutional principle of the ideological neutrality of the state" is chronically disregarded, it is stated in the letter of the gbs. In this context the foundation classifies the "Karlsruher Foyer Kirche und Recht" (Karlsruhe Foyer Church and Law), founded in 2007, as particularly precarious. This committee, led by representatives of the Catholic and Protestant Church, serves the "systematic cultivation of contacts with the supreme judicial authorities in Germany". When it was founded, it had already been able to win the cooperation of thirteen judges from the highest German courts.

According to the foundation's letter, this is just as incompatible with the principle of the "separation of state and church" as it is with "judicial independence". Therefore the foundation appeals to the responsible persons of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Court of Justice, and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federal Republic to refrain from cooperating in the "Foyer Kirche und Recht" during the period in which they are entrusted with tasks at the supreme judicial institutions, and also not to comply with other church invitations, for example to the annual receptions.

The Giordano Bruno Stiftung bases its demands on the fact that the churches have often acted as parties in legal proceedings in the past and that one can assume that this will also be the case in the future. The "great asset of the independence of a court" inevitably suffers if a party is given the opportunity to discuss the position it takes in a dispute exclusively with members of the judicial authorities.

Read the text of the "open letter" in German:

/sites/gbs/files/download/justiz.pdf

Addendum: In his reply, the President of the Federal Constitutional Court (BVG), Prof. Dr. Andreas Voßkuhle, declared that he completely shares the concern expressed in the open letter "to avoid the impression of the court being biased in any respect". He assured, however, "that the judges are extremely sensitive and prudent about this issue." Nevertheless, it does not make sense to "completely shield the constitutional jurisdiction from social influences". The BVG wants to be a "citizen's court in an open plural society and not a legal hermit". The Giordano Bruno Stiftung responded with a new letter in which it clarified its concern once again.

Reply to the President of the Federal Constitutional Court in German:

/sites/gbs/files/download/bvg-av.pdf