Legal Merit in German

In Germany, a notary is a highly qualified person who has been trained as a lawyer. A German notary advises clients on legal transactions as well as on the preparation, notarization and registration of legal instruments such as wills, deeds, applications for company registration, trusts, etc. A notary may also act as a mediator in a dispute. In some Länder, especially in the north-west of the country and in Berlin, it is possible to be a notary lawyer. A notary lawyer is obliged to carefully avoid conflicts of interest and may only perform notarial functions in legal matters in which he does not represent the parties as a lawyer. Journal articles can be an excellent option for research on German law, especially current developments. There are many English-language journals that publish articles on German law. One of the easiest ways to find relevant journal articles is to use an online index. Click on the PDF icon below to see a list of recommended indexes for searching German legal topics. In the broader externalization of German law, constitutional law falls under “public law” – as opposed to “private law” or “civil law” – because it concerns the legal relationship between individuals and the state.

The Basic Law entered into force on 23 May 1949. By virtue of its fundamental principle of the inviolability of human dignity, it guarantees the protection of the fundamental rights to freedom and equality. The Basic Law also defines the structure of the German system of government and law. Since the Basic Law defines the organisational structure of the Federation in Germany, constitutional law also falls under the category of “constitutional law” in German case law. German legal research is easier if you read German; However, there are still many resources in English. Good legal research practices apply regardless of jurisdiction: 1. First, learn about the German legal system, including the full and abbreviated names of legal entities and institutions, and the process by which laws are enacted and published. As in many areas of the German legal language, the names of the individual courts are often known by abbreviations, as follows: The freely accessible website gesetze-im-internet.de, contains all laws, codes and regulations currently in force. It is managed jointly by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the publishers of the legal database Juris. The user interface of this website is in German, but English translations of some laws are available.

The Harvard Library has an extensive collection of historical documents for German legal research. Beck-Online also has a source called Leitsatzkartei, which is an index of legal opinions and secondary legal sources. Search for a topic by name in this source to see a list of related documents. German commercial law is an independent area of private law in the German legal system. In German-speaking legal systems, legal commentaries are an important legal research resource. It is a hybrid primary and secondary source: click on the PDF icon below to see a list of selected printed and online dictionaries and other resources to help you decipher German in legal texts. Know the benefits and risks of resolving a German legal dispute. A selection of German trade laws is listed below. Links lead to the English (if applicable) or German version of the law or code in the free online database Laws on the Internet.

There are several German government websites that provide information about the Basic Law in English: An English translation of the Code of Civil Procedure as amended up to 2013 is available at www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_zpo/index.html. “I can`t do literary work for the rest of this year because I`m meditating on another trial and looking for an accused.” The Law Library has also selected the historical coverage of printed case law rapporteurs: normative acts issued by an executive body and not promulgated by the legislator are called statutory ordinances. In German, they can also be called “laws in the material sense”. In general, the title of a commentary contains the abbreviation of the Statute. For example, the German Civil Code, called the Civil Code, is abbreviated to “BGB”. Thus, commentaries on the Civil Code will bear “BGB” in the title. Hollis is looking for German commercial and corporate law documents What are the options if a German court has ruled against you? The following sources can be used for a quick overview of German business law and commercial law in English: Some legal notices of German courts are available free of charge online, either on court websites or through other sources. Note that in addition to the sources listed below, the Law Library contains several volumes from the German Law Accessible series edited by Beck, which contains books on aspects of German law in English. The Federal Cabinet (Federal Government) directs the affairs of the Federal Government. It is chaired by the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Minister of his choice. The organization, which consists of the cabinet, the chancellor and other executive officials, is called the Federal Chancellery. The International Encyclopedia of Laws (IEL), edited by Kluwer, contains a chapter on German civil procedure law.

The library subscribes to the electronic version of the IEL, accessible via its HALLIS manual. Verwaltungsvorschriten im Internet is a free database of federal administrative directives managed by the federal government in cooperation with Juris. It is similar to the legislative aspect of government, gesetze-im-internet.de, but has no English content or translation. In Germany, administrative law falls under the broader category of “public law”. Hollis Searches: Harvard Library Materials on German Asylum/Refugee Law There are several other online sources for English translations of German court decisions, including the German Legal Archives and the UT-Austin Foreign Law Translations website. To view a law, code or ordinance in Beck-Online, enter its name in the search field at the top of the screen, then select it from the drop-down menu. On the law page, navigate through the text of the law using the table of contents in the left-hand column. For each section, links to references (commentaries, case law, journal articles and forms) are displayed in the rightmost column (under “See also…” (“see also”)). Below you will find links to PDFs with short guides to help you search for historical German law in the collections of the Harvard Library. In addition to a general historical research guide, there are also guides for specific periods, including the Holy Roman Empire, eighteenth-century Prussia, and the former GDR (German Democratic Republic (GDR)).

The Federal Constitutional Court rules on the constitutionality of State action. Most other statutes have only “law” in the title. Many have a “short name”, all have an abbreviation. Examples: 2. A code is a law book, essentially a codification of a broader area of law, such as “civil law” or “criminal law.” The codes of German legal law include: Administrative regulations differ from laws and regulations in that they dictate to agencies how they should act and are not binding on the general public. 2. Next, check the relevant secondary sources. They cite primary law and help you understand the subject. The German Civil Code (BGB) regulates several areas of private law, including: Higher Regional Courts Each federal state has its own higher regional court, which hears appeals from the lower courts of its state. I created a short paper on German asylum and refugee law when I spoke about it at the 2016 meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries. This document provides an overview of the most important German asylum and refugee laws and contains links to many relevant additional sources.

(Photo credit: “Two churches: Cologne, Germany.” Michael Rastetter, Creative Commons License, flic.kr/p/q5jYgX) According to German federal law, the activities of notaries are governed by the Federal Notarial Code (BNotO) and the Notarization Act (BeurkG). Click on the PDF icon below to view a list of German constitutional literature selected from the HLS collection. Bylaws Click on the PDF symbol below to view a Beck Online quick start guide. The Law Library also has several print sources that provide English translations of German legal opinions, including the Youngs` Sourcebook on German Law and the multi-volume decisions of the rapporteur of the Federal Constitutional Court. The German legislature is a parliament consisting of two chambers, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. For an alphabetical list of statutes, click on the Acts/Regulations link. To view a list of recent acts, codes and regulations, click the Update Service link. Free online access to the statutes: Internet Laws The text of the Act is available on the Gesetze-im-Internet website in German (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_bdsg/index.html) and German (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bdsg_1990/index.html).