Report No. 80

3.13. West Germany.-

In (West) Germany, we find two separate methods of appointment of judges prescribed by the Constitution. As regards the Federal Constitutional Court,1 which is not an ordinary court of appeal but deals only with questions relating to interpretation of the Constitution and the validity of laws, the Constitution provides as follows:-

"94(1). The Federal Constitutional Court shall consist of federal judges and other members. Half of the members of the Federal Constitutional Court shall be elected by the Bundestag and half by the Bundesrat. They may not belong to the Bundestag, the Bundesrat, the Federal Government, or the corresponding organs of a Land."

Besides the Federal Constitutional Court, there is the Supreme Court of Germany established "to preserve the uniformity of federal law", by deciding cases in which the decision is of fundamental importance for the uniformity of the administration of justice by the high federal courts. The constitutional provisions as regards the appointment of judges of this Court read as follows2:-

"The judges of the Supreme Federal Court shall be selected jointly by the Federal Minister of Justice and a committee for the selection of judges consisting of the Land Minister of Justice and an equal number of members elected by the Bundestag."

1. Article 94(1), Basic Law of the German Federal Republic.

2. Article 95(3), Constitution of the German Federal Republic.