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Democratic new beginning with former Nazi jurists?
The Federal Ministry of Justice in the shadow of the Nazi past
01 The Federal Ministry of Justice
The founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 also saw the creation of the Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ). The new democracy was the alternative to Nazi dictatorship. The Basic Law gave high priority to human dignity and civil liberties. Within the ministries, however, the democratic new beginning often took place with former personnel from the Nazi period.
Many jurists working in the Federal Ministry of Justice, for example, had previously worked in the Reich Ministry of Justice or in the judicial system of the Nazi dictatorship. The Federal Ministry of Justice set up an Independent Academic Commission to investigate the extent of this personnel-based continuity and its effects. The researchers gained access to all the Ministry's files for the first time. The findings of their work were presented in autumn 2016: "The Rosenburg Files".
02 Constitution Ministry
To this day, the Federal Ministry of Justice is first and foremost a ministry that drafts legislation. It prepares the Federal Government's bills in the fields of civil law, criminal law, commercial and economic law and procedural law. As the "constitution ministry", it also examines the draft laws of other ministries to ensure their conformity with the Basic Law.
The Ministry is also responsible for supervising the authorities in its area of competence, for example the Public Prosecutor General of the Federal Court of Justice. Administrative matters concerning the Federal Court of Justice, the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Fiscal Court are also subject to its supervision. The Ministry also prepares the election of judges to these courts. |