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The Federal Administrative Court – legal protection for citizens

Administrative courts review actions of public authorities as to their lawfulness and protect the rights of citizens. The Federal Administrative Court is the highest federal court for administrative matters. It was established in West Berlin by law of 23 September 1952 while the German Democratic Republic lacked such a court. Leipzig has been the seat of the Federal Administrative Court since 2002.
The administrative court system is organised in three levels. The administrative courts are generally the courts of first instance. The higher administrative courts of the German federal states serve as appellate courts.
The Federal Administrative Court acts as an appellate court dealing exclusively with questions of law. It does not take evidence or examine facts, but ensures that federal law is applied correctly and uniformly. To this end, it reviews the legal opinion of the lower courts and confirms or rejects it.
Appeals on points of law are not always available. They require admission; this is so that the Federal Administrative Court is allowed to focus on legal questions of fundamental significance. An appeal on points of law may already be allowed by the higher administrative court. If it refuses to allow such an appeal, the Federal Administrative Court may admit the appeal on points of law upon the complaint of a party to the proceedings.
In addition to its function as the appellate court for points of law, the Federal Administrative Court is also the first and simultaneously the last instance for certain cases. In these cases, it will also ascertain the facts. This is the case for important infrastructure projects, such as the construction of certain motorways.
The Federal Administrative Court comprises 55 judges from the various German federal states with diverse professional and life experiences. They are organised in senates. For decisions taken in written proceedings, the deciding senate will consist of three judges, if ruling upon an oral hearing, five judges. One judge will preside over the oral hearing. However, all judges have an equal vote in any decision.
The Federal Administrative Court has ten senates for appeals on points of law and two senates dealing with military affairs. Each senate is responsible for a specific field.
Cases are adjudged on the basis of the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. In many cases, legal acts of the European Union are also relevant. Previous rulings of the Federal Administrative Court play an important role in interpreting these provisions, just as do the rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.
The senates are supported by the 150-strong staff of the court registry, the general and the technical administration, the presidential department and the information services, as well as the research assistants. The president of the Federal Administrative Court is responsible for the court administration and acts as the representative of the court vis-à-vis the public. The president is himself a judge and presiding judge of a senate.
The court processes approximately 1,500 cases a year – its decisions in these cases have great influence. In all of Germany, the public authorities of the federal government, federal states and municipalities as well as public entities such as universities are guided by the decisions of the Federal Administrative Court.

Direct quote of presiding judge: "In the name of the people the judgments of the lower instances are amended. The defendant is obliged to review his decision."

The Federal Administrative Court – legal rulings with fundamental significance

The Federal Administrative Court acts as an appellate court dealing with questions of law. Its judgments and decisions act as guidance and ensure a consistent application of the law by public authorities and courts throughout Germany. This means that its decisions must measure up to especially high standards of quality. The work processes of the Court are structured to ensure this goal.
If a case makes it to the Federal Administrative Court, the court registry will assign it a file reference number. The case is assigned to a reporting judge. Claimant and defendant will first explain their positions in writing.
The case is then reviewed based on statutory law, jurisprudence and legal literature. The critical question: did the lower court interpret and apply federal law correctly? Based on the preparatory work of the research assistants, the competent reporting judge drafts a comprehensive decision proposal known as the opinion. Another member of the senate – the co-reporting judge – will then issue a co-opinion. All senate judges receive these opinions and comprehensively familiarise themselves with the case.
Prior to the oral hearing, the reporting judge will present the case in a preliminary discussion and argue his decision proposal. The judges will deliberate on central aspects of the case. In this way, they prepare the oral hearings without making a decision yet.
The court police service prepares the courtroom for the oral hearing. All required files are made available.
The court police service prepares the courtroom for the oral hearing. All required files are made available. Direct quote of court police: "Oral hearing in the administrative litigation Mr. Müller vs. the Federal Republic of Germany."
The presiding judge of the senate will chair the oral hearing. Direct quote of presiding judge: "I hereby open the session of the 3rd Senate of the Federal Administrative Court." The reporting judge then presents the facts of the case. Direct quote at the beginning of the reporting: "The claimant seeks approval of a pharmaceutical. He applied for this in 2013." Afterwards, the lawyers file their applications. In proceedings before the Federal Administrative Court, every party to the proceedings must be represented by a lawyer. Public authorities may be represented by their own jurists. The preparation by the lawyers helps with understanding all aspects of the case and the possible consequences of a decision. All legal questions are examined with the parties in this legal discussion which will often go on for hours. The senate will then retire for deliberation.
The judges will again weigh all legal aspects and arguments in a secret final deliberation. Afterwards, the senate decides unanimously or by majority vote. The senate will also often draft a press statement. The presiding judge announces the decision in the courtroom, summarising the major reasons. The press office publishes the press release. Press spokespersons explain the decision to the media.
In the following days, the reporting judge will draft the written judgment. The reasons for the decision elaborate the results of the senate deliberation. This text is discussed and agreed on in the senate. The court registry collates the finished judgment. A court registry employee checks if changes are correctly implemented and if all citations are correct. The judgment is served to the parties. The information services of the Court publish an anonymised version via the Court website, legal databases and magazines for use by the public and the legal profession.
Special rules apply in cases where the Federal Administrative Court is the court of both first and last instance, for example, in decisions about large transport route projects. In order to bring such cases to a speedy conclusion, the law provides for only one instance at the Federal Administrative Court. In these types of proceedings, the Federal Administrative Court is also required to ascertain the facts and to apply the laws of the German federal states. These cases can be very complex. The oral hearing may continue for days. Due to the extent of the required deliberations and the scope of the cases, a separate date will often be set for pronouncing the judgment.
The decisions of the Federal Administrative Court have fundamental importance. The work of the Court is structured to ensure their balance.

In 2002, Leipzig once again becomes home to one of Germany’s supreme courts, as the Federal Administrative Court moves in.

The Federal Administrative Court – in the building of the former Imperial Court of Justice

When the German Empire was founded in 1871, the imperial justice laws established a supreme court for civil and criminal law. After a prolonged debate, the Reichstag and the Council of the federal states decided in 1877 to locate the Supreme Court – the Imperial Court of Justice – in Leipzig. The young architects Ludwig Hoffmann and Peter Dybwad won a competition with their proposal.
The building of the Imperial Court of Justice was finished in 1895 after seven years of construction and inaugurated by Emperor William II.
The building symbolises the role and importance of the judiciary as the “third power” within the state. It had equal status ranking with the legislature’s Reichstag building in Berlin, which was built at the same time.
From the sculpture of Truth and the ceiling relief with the judicial virtues in the cupola hall and the sculptures of the main stairway to the door relief in the courtrooms – judicial symbolism is everywhere. Alongside the offices, library and the courtrooms, the building’s south wing housed the living quarters of the Court’s president. For his representative tasks, he used a ceremonial hall, which still exists today.
The Imperial Court of Justice ruled on many civil cases. Especially the interpretation of the German Civil Code of 1900 was part of its tasks.
Famous criminal court cases stirred the public. The most famous one was the trial of the Reichstag fire in 1933. It ended with a death sentence for the Dutchman van der Lubbe and the acquittal of four other defendants, among them the Bulgarian communist Georgi Dimitroff. The verdict against van der Lubbe was later reversed by the German parliament alongside other illegitimate Nazi judgments.
The end of the Second World War also marked the end of the Imperial Court of Justice.
The Court’s building – heavily damaged by war – was only partially repaired in the following years. During the period of the German Democratic Republic, it served as Dimitroff museum, Museum of Fine Arts, DEFA film studio, and provided room for multiple public authorities.
After German reunification, the independent Federalism commission of the Federation and the federal states recommended moving the Federal Administrative Court from Berlin to Saxony.
This made it possible for the former building of the Imperial Court of Justice in Leipzig to become the seat of one of Germany’s federal supreme courts. The building had to be comprehensively refurbished and restored. An additional floor was added to gain more space.
The carefully restored historical building is now once again a place of the administration of justice. In this present day, the Palace of Justice, built in the 19th century, fulfils all requirements of a modern court. It houses the German supreme court for administrative matters – the Federal Administrative Court.

With over 240,000 volumes on constitutional law, administrative law and European Union law, the library serves current jurisdiction and preserves historical legal works.

The Federal Administrative Court – the legal library with historical collections

The legal library is housed in the non-public area of the court. Still, interested external persons may use the collections upon prior appointment.

Legal journals and current legal literature are available in the reading room. The other collections of the library are housed in storerooms. They include many loose-leaf binders which can be updated page by page.

Every judge has his/her own reference library. It is always kept up-to-date. It features standard administrative law works and literature for special legal fields. In addition, legal databases as well as the online catalogue of the library provide assistance for the legal analysis.

In order to prepare decisions and to research the development of laws, historical legal works from the comprehensive old collections are used on occasion. These old collections comprise the former libraries of the Prussian Higher Administrative Court and the Imperial Court of Justice, which contain, among others, comprehensive material about civil service law.

With about 300,000 volumes, the library of the Imperial Court of Justice was one of the most important legal libraries in Europe at the end of World War II. In 1950, the library was transferred to the Supreme Court of the GDR in East Berlin. For lack of space, substantial parts of the valuable collections were transferred, passed on to other sites or sold. After the reunification, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) received the remaining collections. When the Federal Administrative Court moved into the former building of the Imperial Court of Justice in the year 2002, part of the Imperial Court Library returned to Leipzig, among others, all volumes dating back to before 1800.

The oldest volume dates back to the 13th century. 450 manuscripts and 281 incunables, cradle books from the beginnings of letterpress printing, are other precious, special works.

The library has rare works restored by specialised firms. Individual works, partly only on hand as unique copies, were and are being digitised at the university library in Leipzig. In that way, the library safeguards the historical collections and supports the court's work through its various services.