List_of_justices_of_the_Federal_Constitutional_Court

List of justices of the Federal Constitutional Court

List of justices of the Federal Constitutional Court

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The Federal Constitutional Court (German: Bundesverfassungsgericht, usually abbreviated BVerfG) is the federal constitutional court of Germany. It is the highest independent constitutional organ of the German judiciary, ranking equally with the other supreme federal courts, and is – at the same time – the highest federal court in Germany.

Dieter Grimm [de], Hermann Heußner [de] and Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde in 1989

Today, 16 justices serve on the two senates of the court. This article lists the current justices and the former presidents, vice-presidents and all former justices.

Current justices of the Federal Constitutional Court

The Court is divided into two senates, each with different subject-matter jurisdiction. The court's two senates were originally staffed with twelve justices each. With effect from 1963, the number of justices per senate was reduced to eight.[1] The eight justices per senate include the president and the vice-president of the Federal Constitutional Court, who each preside over one of the court's two senates.

First senate

Eight justices currently serve on the first senate of the Federal Constitutional Court. Listed in order of seniority, they are:

More information Justice, Position (seat) ...

Second senate

Eight justices currently serve on the second senate of the Federal Constitutional Court. Listed in order of seniority, they are:

More information Justice, Position (seat) ...

Presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court

The president and the vice-president of the Federal Constitutional Court are elected alternately by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat in accordance with Section 9 of the Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz [de], and are appointed by the President of Germany in accordance with Section 10 of the Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz [de].[24]

To date, 10 persons have served as presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court. In chronological order, they are:

More information President, Senate ...

Vice-presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court

To date, 15 persons have served as vice-presidents of the Federal Constitutional Court. Listed in chronological order, they are:

More information Vice-President, Senate ...

Justices of the Federal Constitutional Court

Since the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court in 1951, 118 justices (including presidents and vice-presidents) have served on the court. The shortest tenure on the court lasted only 133 days (Claus Leusser [de]), while the longest serving member of the court served for 26 years and 56 days (Willi Geiger).[47]

The court's justices are elected by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, and are appointed by the President of Germany. According to Article 94 of the German Basic Law, both legislative bodies elect half of the members of the two senates. The election procedure is contained in Sections 5 and 6 of the Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz [de].[48]

The 118 justices are listed below in chronological order. If the date of their assumption of office – their appointment – is identical, the lower seat number is decisive for the purposes of this list.

More information Justice, Position (seat) ...

Key

  • Justice: States the name of the justice. In brackets the year of birth for justices who are still alive, and the year of birth and death for justices, who are deceased, are given.
  • Position (seat): The office of the justice is listed (i.e. president, vice-president or justice). In brackets the seat number is provided: It is composed of the number of the Senate (1 or 2), the electoral body (Bundestag [BT] or Bundesrat [BR]), the respective seat of the justice (1 to 6) and a number corresponding to the chronological occupancy of the seat. Example: The indication "1 BR 4.3" shows that the justice is the third to occupy the fourth seat of the group of justices elected by the Bundesrat to the first senate.
  • Senate: States on which senate the respective justice serves or has served.
  • Tenure (as justice):
    • First date: Specifies the date on which the justice assumed their office. This date is not identical with the date of their election.
    • Last date: Indicates the last day of the term of office of the justice. In case of sitting justices, they are marked as "incumbent".
  • Tenure length: States the length of time a justice is or was in office.
  • Proposal: States which German political party proposed the respective justice for their office.
  • Ref.: Gives a reference for the information provided in the specific row of the table.

References

Notes

  1. Badura & Dreier 2001 state 8 October 1986 as the date of Graßhof's appointment. The Federal Constitutional Court provides 6 October 1986 in a press release. The latter date is used here.

References

  1. Ley 1991, pp. 424–425.
  2. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 51/2020: Präsidentenwechsel am Bundesverfassungsgericht". Federal Constitutional Court. 22 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  3. Rath, Christian (15 April 2022). "Vor dem großen Wechsel". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  4. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 21/2023: Bundesverfassungsrichterin Prof. Dr. Susanne Baer scheidet aus dem Amt". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 20 February 2023. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  5. Rath, Christian (20 February 2023). "Martin Eifert wird zum Verfassungsrichter ernannt: Der neue Klima-Richter". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  6. Rath, Christian (25 March 2023). "Miriam Meßling neue Bundesverfassungsrichterin". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  7. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 2/2023: Bundesverfassungsrichterin Monika Hermanns scheidet aus dem Amt". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. Rath, Christian (9 December 2022). "Neue Verfassungsrichter:innen: Neues Trio fürs Bundesverfassungsgericht". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  9. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 3/2023: Bundesverfassungsrichter Prof. Dr. Peter M. Huber scheidet aus dem Amt". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  10. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 123/2023: Bundesverfassungsrichter Peter Müller scheidet aus dem Amt". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 21 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  11. Rath, Christian (21 December 2023). "Peter Frank wird Verfassungsrichter: Ein Justizbeamter auf dem Weg nach oben". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  12. Rath, Christian (15 December 2023). "Holger Wöckel wird neuer Verfassungsrichter". Legal Tribune Online (in German). Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  13. Ley 1991, pp. 438–439.
  14. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 915, 930.
  15. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 919, 930.
  16. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 920, 930.
  17. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 922, 930.
  18. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 921, 923, 930.
  19. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 925, 930.
  20. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 927, 930.
  21. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 17/2010: Präsidentenwechsel am Bundesverfassungsgericht". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 16 March 2010. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  22. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 924, 930.
  23. Badura & Dreier 2001, pp. 928, 930.
  24. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 96/2007: Bundesverfassungsrichter Prof. Dr. Udo Steiner scheidet aus dem Amt". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 28 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2002.
  25. Ley 1982, p. 526.
  26. Ley 1991, p. 435.
  27. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 56/99: Ehemaliger Verfassungsrichter Theodor Ritterspach verstorben". Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbrücken (in German). 14 May 1999. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  28. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 49/97: Bundesverfassungsrichter a.D. Dr. Karl Heck verstorben". Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbrücken (in German). 4 June 1997. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  29. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 69/2008: Ehemaliger Bundesverfassungsrichter Dr. Karl Haager verstorben". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 4 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  30. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 81/2006: Ehemaliger Bundesverfassungsrichter Hans Joachim Faller verstorben". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 13 September 2006. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  31. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 29/2005: Ehemaliger Bundesverfassungsrichter Konrad Hesse verstorben". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 1 April 2005. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  32. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 9/2012: Ehemalige Bundesverfassungsrichterin Dr. Gisela Niemeyer verstorben". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  33. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 37/96: Prof. Dr. Hermann Heußner verstorben". Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbrücken (in German). 28 June 1996. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  34. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 43/99: Ehemalige Richterin des BVerfG Helga Seibert ist verstorben". Juristisches Internetprojekt Saarbrücken (in German). 13 April 1999. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  35. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 129/2000: Bundesverfassungsrichter Klaus Winter ist verstorben". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 10 October 2000. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  36. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 74/2022: Bundesverfassungsrichter a. D. Bertold Sommer feiert seinen 85. Geburtstag". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 12 September 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  37. "Pressemitteilung Nr. 11/2011: Bundesverfassungsrichter Prof. Dr. Brun-Otto Bryde scheidet aus dem Amt". Federal Constitutional Court (in German). 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  38. "Bundestag wählt Heinrich Amadeus Wolff zum Verfassungsrichter". Der Spiegel (in German). 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.

Bibliography

  • Badura, Peter; Dreier, Horst, eds. (2001). 50 Jahre Bundesverfassungsgericht (in German). Vol. II: Klärung und Fortbildung des Verfassungsrechts. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 3-16-147627-1.
  • Ley, Richard (1982). "Die Erstbesetzung des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes". Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen (in German). 13 (4): 521–541. JSTOR 24218513.
  • (1991). "Die Wahl der Mitglieder des Bundesverfassungsgerichtes. Eine Dokumentation anläßlich des 40jährigen Bestehens". Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen (in German). 22 (3): 420–449. JSTOR 24224804.

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