A Short Historical Review of the German Judicial System

The history of a unified German judiciary structure emphasizes two major characteristics. It tells a story of a judicial system which is as discontinuous as it is old. The first truly imperial court, known as the “Reichskammergericht”, was created in 1495. Its significant features were a permanent seat and an independence of the judges. Their decisions were final and conclusive, and were binding on the emperors. This court remained in existence until the demise of the old German Empire in 1806. Thereafter, due to a rapid political fragmentation of the territory formerly constituting the empire, the individual German states were bound together in a loose confederation only, known as the “Deutscher Bund”. Enjoying complete sovereignty, the states passed their own and widely differing laws. Endeavors to bring about some semblance of uniformity in such laws were doomed to failure, except in some areas of commercial law. Equally, in spite of repeated attempts, the formation of a unified appellate court of last resort encountered insurmountable difficulties. This state of affairs continued until cessation of the confederation when Austria was compelled to withdraw from it in 1866 and a new North German Confederation was formed under the leadership of Prussia. A few years later, in 1871, the North German Confederation was united with the southern German states and the new union became known as the German Empire.