Changed court structure - Regional court: concentration of criminal and civil cases
The year 2024 marks the beginning of a new era for the Berlin Regional Court: in future, all criminal and civil cases will be concentrated at one regional court. District Court I at the Moabit location will then be responsible for all criminal cases in the entire city. All civil cases will be handled by Regional Court II at its Tegeler Weg and Littenstraße locations. With the implementation of the structural reform, the state of Berlin is breaking new ground, according to the Senate Justice Administration.
"The division is another important step towards a more citizen-oriented, more accessible and, above all, more efficient justice system," said Senator for Justice Felor Badenberg (non-party). The restructuring had been discussed for a long time. It was initiated by the previous state government of the SPD, Greens and Left Party and passed in the Berlin House of Representatives in January 2023.
The new structure is made possible by a revision of the Courts Constitution Act, which allows for a concentration of responsibilities. Berlin will be the pioneer of such a model in Germany. Although there is also a Regional Court I and II in Munich, the division there is based on regional aspects.
"With this pioneering reform of the Berlin court structure, we are laying the foundations for meeting the different requirements in the civil and criminal areas more efficiently and successfully," said Senator Badenberg. For example, administrative tasks will be clearer and staff will be deployed more specifically for the respective areas - i.e. criminal proceedings or civil cases - in future. With more than 400 judges and around 800 employees, the Berlin district court is the largest in Germany, according to the judiciary.
Former Berlin district court president Holger Matthiessen was one of the early advocates of the new structure. He has since moved to the judiciary in Brandenburg and is now head of the Potsdam district court. Following the division of the Berlin regional court, the presidential posts of both courts are now vacant. They are to be filled at the beginning of 2024, according to a spokeswoman for the Senate Justice Administration. Until then, the vice presidents will take on the tasks. "The courts are fully capable of acting," she emphasized.
According to a spokesperson for the criminal courts, the impact of the reform on visitors to the courts is rather minor. Signatures in letters, for example, would change. However, trials would take place as usual.
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Source: www.stern.de
