Individual Evaluation of Judges in Germany

<p>In Germany, with the exception of the five federal supreme courts, court organization is a responsibility of the L&auml;nder (federal states). In some of the L&auml;nder, so-called employee profiles (&ldquo;Anforderungsprofile&ldquo;) have been established for judicial offic...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Johannes Riedel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2014-12-01
Series:Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ssrn.com/abstract=2533857
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Summary:<p>In Germany, with the exception of the five federal supreme courts, court organization is a responsibility of the L&auml;nder (federal states). In some of the L&auml;nder, so-called employee profiles (&ldquo;Anforderungsprofile&ldquo;) have been established for judicial office. These lists attempt to describe criteria for certain judicial positions. They are applied in the process of promotion but also serve as an indicator for initial appointment.</p><p>The European picture with respect to individual evaluation of judges is extremely diverse. In preparation for this paper, the author attempted to ascertain the situation in the Council of Europe member states. The results of this survey (to which 23 members of the CCJE have replied) are listed in Appendix I.</p><p>The general difficulty of professional evaluation of judges lies in the limits that have to be observed for constitutional reasons. In Germany, the overall rule of every evaluation is that there has to be a reliable factual basis. The evaluator is under a duty not to omit relevant aspects, to consider all the facts that make part of the picture, not to select arbitrarily but to try to paint a true and full picture of the person who is being evaluated. In the case of judges, it is unacceptable to comment on the core of judicial decision-making. Evaluations may be challenged in the administrative court on grounds of fact as well as on grounds of law.</p> <hr /><p>En Alemania, con la excepci&oacute;n de las cinco cortes supremas federales, la organizaci&oacute;n judicial es responsabilidad de los L&auml;nder (estados federales). En algunos de estos L&auml;nder, se han establecido los denominados perfiles de empleados (&ldquo;Anforderungsprofile&rdquo;) para la oficina judicial. Estas listas pretenden describir los criterios para determinados cargos judiciales. Se aplican en los procesos de promoci&oacute;n, pero tambi&eacute;n sirven como un indicador para el nombramiento inicial.</p><p>El panorama europeo respecto a la evaluaci&oacute;n individual de los jueces es muy diverso. Preparando este trabajo, el autor intent&oacute; determinar la situaci&oacute;n de los Estados miembros del Consejo de Europa. Los resultados de esta encuesta (a la que respondieron 23 miembros del CCJE) se enumeran en el Ap&eacute;ndice I.</p><p>La dificultad general de la evaluaci&oacute;n profesional de los jueces estriba en los l&iacute;mites que se deben respetar por razones constitucionales. En Alemania, la regla general de cada evaluaci&oacute;n es que tiene que haber una base factual fiable. El evaluador tiene la obligaci&oacute;n de no omitir aspectos relevantes, debe considerar todos los hechos que forman parte de la imagen general, sin seleccionar arbitrariamente, sino tratando de reflejar una imagen verdadera y completa de la persona que est&aacute; siendo evaluada. En el caso de los jueces, es inaceptable comentar la base de la toma de decisiones judiciales. Las evaluaciones pueden ser impugnadas en el tribunal administrativo por razones de hecho y no s&oacute;lo por razones de derecho.</p> <p><strong>DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN</strong>: <a href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=2533857" target="_blank">http://ssrn.com/abstract=2533857</a></p>
ISSN:2079-5971