Constitutional Court of Brandenburg

The Constitutional Court of Brandenburg is the third constitutional body of the State of Brandenburg, alongside the Brandenburg State Parliament and the Brandenburg State Government. As a constitutional court, it is responsible for constitutional disputes.

History

The Constitutional Court was the last of Brandenburg's constitutional bodies to begin its work in 1993.^[1]

Monika Weisberg-Schwarz was the first woman to head the court as president from 2004 to the end of 2008.

Seat

The court is located in Potsdam. The address is Jägerallee 9–12, 14469 Potsdam. Article 112 of the Constitution of the State of Brandenburg regulates the composition and term of office of the members of the Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court consists of the President, the Vice President and seven other constitutional judges. It is made up of one third professional judges, one third members with the qualifications to hold judicial office or with a legal degree, and one third members who do not have to meet these requirements. Members of the Constitutional Court can also be non-lawyers. This has already been the case in the past, for example in the person of the writer, painter and composer Florian Havemann.

Article 112 of the Constitution of the State of Brandenburg allows the number of members of the Constitutional Court to be increased to twelve by law. The members of the Constitutional Court must be elected by the State Parliament of Brandenburg with a majority of two-thirds of the members of the State Parliament. Their term of office is ten years without the possibility of re-election. In addition, only those who are at least thirty-five years old and eligible for election to the German Bundestag can be elected as constitutional judges. The members of the Constitutional Court may not belong to another constitutional body of the state or the federal government.

In implementation of the provisions of Article 112 of the Constitution of the State of Brandenburg, the Law on the Constitutional Court of the State of Brandenburg (VerfGGBbg) contains, among other things, detailed provisions on the election, the personal requirements that the members of the Constitutional Court must fulfill, the oath of office to be taken, compensation, early retirement of constitutional judges from office and the incompatibility of the office of constitutional judge with other activities. For example, civil servants and other members of the public service, with the exception of judges and professors at a German university, cannot be members of the Constitutional Court. In addition, constitutional judges can leave office at any time at their own request.

Jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court

According to Article 113 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Court decides in particular on:^[2]

Disputes between organs within the state,
abstract norm controls against state law based on the standard of the constitution,
concrete norm controls against state laws based on the standard of the constitution,
constitutional complaints (by individuals due to violation of fundamental rights or by municipalities due to violation of municipal self-government).

Members

Members of the Court are: (Note: Main job/occupation in brackets)

Markus Möller, President (Presiding Judge at the Finance Court)
Michael Strauß, Vice President (District Court Judge)
Julia Barbara Finck (alias Juli Zeh; writer)
Kathleen Heinrich-Reichow (Judge at the Social Court)
Christine Kirbach (District Court Judge)
Andreas Koch (Judge at the Federal Administrative Court)
Thomas Gerald Müller (attorney at law)
Alexander Richter (Judge at the Social Court)
Karen Sokoll (attorney at law)

Former members

Former members of the court are:^[3]

Hans-Herbert von Arnim, 1993 - 1996
Ulrich Becker, 2011 - 2021
Michael Dawin, Vice President from 2009 to 2011, Judge since 2004
Andreas Dielitz, 2009 - 2019
Matthias Dombert, 1993 - 2009
Andreas Dresen, 2012 - 2023
Christine Fuchsloch, 2009 - 2019
Beate Harms-Ziegler, 1993 - 2009
Florian Havemann, 1999 - 2009
Sarina Jegutidse, 1999 - 2009
Wolfgang Knippel, Vice President from 1993 to 2009
Dirk Lammer, 2010 - 2021
Peter Macke, President, 1993 - 2004
Ralf Mitzner, 1993 - 1999
Jes Möller, President from 2012 to 2019, judge since 2009
Kerstin Nitsche, Vice President from 2011 to 2019, judge since 2009
Sigrid Partikel, 2009 - 2019
Rüdiger Postier, President from 2009 to 2012
Kristina Schmidt, 2009 - 2019
Karl-Heinz Schöneburg, 1993 - 1999
Volkmar Schöneburg, 2006 - 2009
Richard Schröder, 1993 - 2009
Monika Weisberg-Schwarz, President from 2004 to 2009, judge since 1993
Rosemarie Will, 1996 - 2006

References

^ Strauß, Michael (2023-09-05). "30 Jahre Verfassungsgericht Brandenburg "Es muss nicht immer Karlsruhe sein"". www.maz-online.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-14.
^ "Aufgaben des Verfassungsgerichts". Verfassungsgericht des Landes Brandenburg. Archived from the original on 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
^ Fadeev, Vladimir Ivanovič; Schulze, Carola, eds. (2013). Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit in der Russischen Föderation und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Rundtischgespräch an der Moskauer Staatlichen Juristischen Kutafin-Universität am 9. und 10. Oktober 2012. Potsdam: Univ.-Verl. ISBN 978-3-86956-267-4.

[1] Strauß, Michael (2023-09-05). "30 Jahre Verfassungsgericht Brandenburg "Es muss nicht immer Karlsruhe sein"". www.maz-online.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-09-14.

[2] "Aufgaben des Verfassungsgerichts". Verfassungsgericht des Landes Brandenburg. Archived from the original on 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2024-09-14.

[3] Fadeev, Vladimir Ivanovič; Schulze, Carola, eds. (2013). Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit in der Russischen Föderation und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Rundtischgespräch an der Moskauer Staatlichen Juristischen Kutafin-Universität am 9. und 10. Oktober 2012. Potsdam: Univ.-Verl. ISBN 978-3-86956-267-4.

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