The system of administrative courts of the Federal Republic of Germany: organization and functioning

Abstract

The article is devoted to the organization and functioning of administrative courts of general and special jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany. Administrative justice in Germany is an independent branch of judicial power. It is represented by administrative courts of general and special jurisdiction and is separated from constitutional, general courts and courts of labor disputes.
 The system of administrative courts of general jurisdiction in Germany covers three levels: the administrative courts, the higher administrative courts of the states and the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. The administrative court is the court of first instance for most administrative proceedings. The higher administrative courts of the federal states are the appellate and cassation instance of the administrative courts. Each federal state has a Supreme Administrative Court, the states of Berlin and Brandenburg share a Supreme Administrative Court, which, with the exception of Bavaria, Saxony- Anhalt and the city-states, are not located in the capital of the state to emphasize their independence from the administration in terms of location. Higher administrative courts are courts of first instance in cases of judicial review of laws and regulations, prohibition of associations by state bodies, and approval of implementation of certain infrastructure projects. The Federal Administrative Court, located in Leipzig, is the court of appeal and cassation on matters of law. The legislature also gave the Federal Administrative Court first-instance jurisdiction in public law disputes between the federal government and non-constitutional Länder, bans on mergers by the Federal Minister of the Interior or approvals for certain infrastructure projects. In these cases, the Federal Administrative Court has jurisdiction of both first and last instance.
 A feature of administrative justice in Germany is the presence of special courts of administrative justice – financial and social courts with appropriate organization and functioning. The issue of the status of judges of administrative courts, non-professional judges, representatives of public interest, judicial administration, competence and jurisdiction was considered.