German judges call for limiting influence over prosecutors — Deutsche Welle
The German Judges Association, Deutscher Richterbund, has called on Germany’s federal government to strengthen legislation to prevent prosecutorial powers from being used for party-political purposes. The concern is linked to the prospect of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party coming to power in the state of Saxony-Anhalt after its convincing election victory in early September, Deutsche Welle reports.
Deutscher Richterbund Executive Director Sven Rebehn said the priority is to prevent the misuse of prosecutors’ offices for political purposes. According to him, the current rules allow state justice ministries to intervene even in individual criminal proceedings. The tradition of restraint when issuing instructions to prosecutors, he stressed, can be abandoned at any time and does not provide effective protection.
Concerns about political influence
Germany’s domestic intelligence agencies consider parts of the AfD to be a threat to the country’s constitutional democratic order. Within the judicial system, there are concerns that the party, if it led a state government, could influence the direction of criminal investigations — in particular, by diverting prosecutors from cases against right-wing extremists.
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In Germany, prosecutors, like the police, belong to the executive branch and are subject to parliamentary oversight. Some constitutional lawyers view such a system as a democratic principle, since the actions of prosecutors can be overseen by democratically elected bodies. At the same time, critics point out that this model creates an opportunity for political influence.
Reform proposals
Berlin prosecutor Margarete Koppers also supports abolishing the right of ministries to issue instructions to prosecutors. Her spokesperson said that the rule of law is put at risk when its rules are used for political purposes.
Criminal defense lawyer Gül Pinar believes the reform is necessary primarily because such instructions are not documented. In her view, recording directives would allow lawyers to verify their legality and the limits of authority. At the same time, she does not support the complete independence of prosecutors from the executive branch. The Federal Ministry of Justice said that the current rules contain sufficient safeguards: ministries are prohibited from issuing unlawful instructions, and prosecutors are prohibited from carrying them out.
