display

Basically, this time it could have gone well for Hamburg's controversial Justice Senator Anna Gallina.

Just a few days ago, well-known lawyers from the city-state on the Elbe had sent a clear appeal to the Green politician to draw attention to the precarious situation of the judiciary.

The loss of confidence in the rule of law and democracy is in danger.

Therefore, in their three-page letter, the warning people demanded, among other things, the continuation of the expiring pact for the rule of law - the alliance that the federal and state governments forged in 2019 to create additional posts for judges and prosecutors.

Gallina has now reacted to this - albeit differently than expected from her critics.

And so the displeasure with the senator grows.

"The rule of law needs a well-equipped judiciary", justified Gallina on Wednesday for her nationwide advance with a position paper.

This is the only way people can really get their rights, which in turn is of fundamental importance for trust in the state.

"By coping with the consequences of the pandemic, the judiciary will face additional tasks in the next few years," said the Justice Senator, citing the digitization of the judiciary itself, law enforcement in a digitized world, and new requirements from legislation and case law as examples.

"Flexibly designed" affiliation agreement

A “flexibly designed” follow-up agreement to the pact for the rule of law, which expires at the end of the year, must reflect these circumstances and is urgently necessary “in order to at least secure the long-term results of the pact that have been achieved so far,” said Gallina.

Hamburg's Senator for Finance Andreas Dressel (SPD) positions himself at her side, who fears that the pact will soon fizzle out in view of the financial consequences of the corona pandemic: “The federal government cannot be interested in this either.

We will address the federal government through both the Justice and Finance Ministers' Conference. ”A strong judiciary must be a common concern of the federal and state governments, especially in times of crisis.

display

On January 31, 2019, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the federal states agreed to install 2,000 additional positions for judges and public prosecutors within two years.

The federal states have received a total of 220 million euros for this.

Gallina and Dressel are committed to ensuring that this volume is at least retained.

"However, we deliberately designed our position paper in such a way that we go into consultations with the other countries with a certain degree of flexibility," explained Gallina.

Hamburg's proposal: The pact for the rule of law is to be extended for at least two more years - starting after the exceptional circumstances of the debt brake expire.

The additional federal funds in the amount of again 220 million euros are intended to enable the states to service their pandemic-related expenses in the coming years without having to cut jobs in the judiciary.

With the position paper, Hamburg calls on the federal government to continue to make its contribution to strengthening the rule of law.

The allegedly common serve, however, was preceded by a story that causes trouble among Hamburg's influential lawyers.

Accordingly, the Senators Gallina and Dressel had only sought contact in advance with Helmut Nause, the President of the Hamburg State Labor Court, and Birgit Voßkühler, the President of the Hamburg Constitutional Court, and initiated the publication of a concerted position paper.

According to WELT information, representatives of the Dickschiffe such as the district court, regional court and higher regional court were not involved.

After all, around four fifths of all employees of the Hamburg judiciary are employed in this ordinary jurisdiction and the understaffing is the most visible.

display

Nause and Voßkühler were part of the virtual presentation by Gallina and Dressel on Wednesday and emphasized the importance of a functioning constitutional state.

“The judiciary can only reliably fulfill its central role in the rule of law in the future if the financing of the jobs created is secured in the long term,” said Vosskühler.

The President of the Constitutional Court also stressed that she and Nause “speak for all court presidents and their problems”.

There is talk of disrespect

It is undisputed that all court presidents of the Hanseatic city are of course committed to providing sufficient financial resources for the judiciary.

However, not to involve all those responsible in the development of a position paper, "in order to start a really common serve", creates resentment, as it was said from parts of the judiciary.

The senator's disrespect in dealing with senior judges can also be heard.

In addition, the laudable pact for the rule of law only accounts for part of the financial injection that flows into the judiciary every year.

In accordance with the Königstein key, Hamburg has received a total of 2.5 million euros from the federal government as a result of the pact since 2019 and invested these funds in around 50 new jobs.

Annually 26 million euros more for the judiciary

display

Gallina's critics now fear that by calling for a continuation of the pact for the rule of law, the senator is neglecting her ambitions in the state justice budget for which she is responsible.

But the Green politician emphasized on Wednesday: “In the current budget discussions, we were able to achieve a significant increase of 7.2 percent by bringing 26 million euros more into the judicial budget every year - and that before the difficult budget situation that the federal and state governments in the pandemic. ”The red-green Senate agreed to“ hold on to the job creation of the past ”.

There will be no cuts or cuts, said Gallina.

The Green politician will have to be measured against the achievements of her predecessor and party friend Till Steffen.

After decades of dismantling, this had started the largest personnel offensive in 20 years and between 2015 and 2020 created more than 250 new jobs in the Hamburg judiciary.

Because numerous problems such as long procedural times remained and new ones were added, for example in the form of more complex processes, the call for an increase in staff does not go away.

According to Gallina, all of the newly created positions have now been filled; of the 984 positions in the judges, only just under three percent are currently vacant.

Well-known judges such as Hamburg's former highest judge Friedrich-Joachim Mehmel, who served as both President of the Hamburg Constitutional Court and the Higher Administrative Court until 2020, formulated an appeal: "If proceedings take too long, if courts cannot provide timely legal protection, if digitization remains in its infancy in the interests of a justice system close to the people, trust in the justice system and thus in the rule of law will dwindle dangerously. ”The consequences that could have can be seen internationally, in some EU states, but also in our country observe.

"So that there is no lasting damage to democracy"

With regard to the “current budget situation in Hamburg, but also in the other federal states”, the authors of the appeal see “the workability of the judiciary at risk”.

In order to avoid lasting damage to democracy and the rule of law, the courts and public prosecutor's offices need “adequate personnel and material resources”.

Gallina has not yet responded to this “at least in writing”, as she emphasized.

In response to a request from WELT, your authority stated that it was a public appeal "that was sent to us for our knowledge".

Therefore there was no answer.

There is still a need for discussion between the Senator and her critics.