Will Attorney General Frank become the new constitutional judge?
According to dpa information, Federal Prosecutor General Peter Frank (55) is to succeed Peter Müller at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. The CSU and CDU have agreed on this, the German Press Agency learned on Thursday. The SPD-led federal states are still discussing the appointment. The Bundesrat would have to confirm the candidate with a two-thirds majority. The next meeting is on Friday, after which the chamber of states will not meet again until mid-December.
The CSU has the right of nomination due to a current agreement between the governing and opposition parties. Previously, former Bavarian Justice Minister Winfried Bausback (CSU) had long been considered. According to reports, one of the arguments against him was possible bias due to his CSU party membership in the upcoming lawsuit against the Bundestag election law at the Constitutional Court.
Frank has been Federal Public Prosecutor General at the Federal Court of Justice since October 5, 2015 and is therefore head of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office. At 47, he was the youngest Federal Public Prosecutor General when he took office.
As a federal public prosecutor's office, the Karlsruhe authority with around 300 employees reports to the Federal Ministry of Justice. It is responsible for outstanding proceedings in areas such as terrorism, espionage and international criminal law.
No scandals
Public statements by Frank are few and far between. Every now and then, the chief prosecutor gives interviews. He worked on improving cooperation between investigating authorities. No scandals: not at all.
One focus of his work is the fight against terrorism. The number of investigations into this has recently risen significantly. Between the beginning of January and the end of September alone, 356 investigations relating to Islamist terrorism were initiated, according to an answer from the Federal Government to a question from the Left Party.
The "Reichsbürger" scene is also becoming increasingly important. Just over a year ago, Frank announced that he wanted to take on more cases from this spectrum. However, the raid on Thursday was the responsibility of the Munich Public Prosecutor General's Office.
Frank, who was born in Lauda (now Lauda-Königshofen) in Baden-Württemberg, had replaced Harald Range, who had been dismissed by Federal Minister of Justice Heiko Maas (SPD) due to significant differences in connection with investigations into treason against the bloggers of "Netzpolitik.org". Frank was not only an excellent lawyer, but also a committed civil servant with sensitivity and leadership skills, Maas said at the time.
Exams with top marks
Frank is regarded as experienced, resilient, sociable and easy-going. It was Bausback, of all people, who once praised Frank's legal expertise, leadership skills, talent in dealing with people and political intuition as the Bavarian Minister of Justice at the time.
Frank studied law in Würzburg and Munich, passed both state law examinations with top marks and obtained a doctorate in criminal procedure ("summa cum laude"). He then worked as a public prosecutor in Munich and later for the Bavarian Ministry of Justice. At times, Frank was seconded to represent the Free State at the federal level. Interim positions took him to the Munich I Regional Court and the Munich Higher Regional Court as a judge. In March 2015 - just a few months before moving to Karlsruhe - Frank became Attorney General in Munich. A picture-book career.
Now he may be moving to Germany's highest court - a good one and a half kilometers away as the crow flies. Frank would succeed the former CDU Minister President of Saarland, Müller, who is responsible for electoral and party law in the Second Senate. The 68-year-old's term of office expired in September. He will continue to work until his successor has been appointed. He was last seen in his role recently at the announcement of the budget ruling.
Frank's appointment as the new constitutional judge requires approval from the Bundesrat with a two-thirds majority, given the CSU's right of nomination due to a current agreement between governing and opposition parties. The personal data of individuals involved in outstanding proceedings, such as terrorism and espionage cases, under Frank's responsibility at the Karlsruhe authority, must be handled with utmost justice and confidentiality, reflecting his commitment to upholding law and order.
Source: www.dpa.com
