News

Karlsruhe, Cologne and Berlin

In Karlsruhe, the Attorney General -Schlosser- informed the present magistrates about the duties and activities of the Attorney General Office. The “principle of ex–officio investigation” applied in Germany in the criminal process which binds the courts and government authorities to carry out ex-officio investigations, raised special interest. In the following conversation with Prof. Dr. Gaier, magistrate of the Federal Constitutional Court, the subject of the right of assembly was illustrated by the well-known “Brokdorf” agreement. This case, which goes back to the beginning of the 80’s, symbolizes that both freedom to gather as well as freedom to demonstrate constitute a very important German asset that can only be restricted in exceptional and pertinent cases.

The President of the Federal Court of Justice, Prof. Dr. Tolksdorf, emphasized the good and longtime relationship between Thailand and Germany. The magistrates were impressed by the short procedural duration in the Federal Court of Justice. The president and his colleagues indicated that two thirds of the processes are concluded within the period of one month and that 85% of all processes end after two months.

Setting up meetings in North Rhine-Westphalia became the second stop of this study trip. In the interview with Udo Behrendes, director of the Cologne Police Leadership Team, the participants had the opportunity to become aware of the challenges that the Special Operations Forces face as a result of protests. Mr. Behrendes shared the current example of a recent counter-protest against an extreme right-wing group concentration which was held right in front of the Cologne-Kalk Police headquarters.

The trip concluded in the Federal Capital of Berlin, where interviews with representatives of the justice and political fields were held. Once again, and mostly at the Federal Justice Ministry, the current evolution shown regarding data retention, the budget right of the Federal Constitutional Court as well as the intended strengthening of journalists’ rights were the lively discussed subjects.

The magistrates visited the Foundation’s headquarter in Potsdam for the final dialog and met with Dr. Wolf Dieter Zumpfort, Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, in order to share the experiences gathered during the study trip.