Germany
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal parliamentary republic
- CONSTITUTION
- May 23, 1949, became the constitution of unified Germany on October 3, 1990; amended several times, last in 2020
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- civil law; recognizes ICJ jurisdiction as mandatory with reservations
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral Parliament (Parlament), Federal Assembly (Bundestag) and Federal Council (Bundesrat)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Federal Court of Justice (the court is composed of 127 judges, including the court president, vice presidents, presiding judges, other judges and organized into 25 senates divided into 12 civil chambers, 5 criminal chambers, and 8 special chambers); Federal Constitutional Court or Bundesverfassungsgericht (composed of 2 senates each divided into 3 chambers, each with a president and 8 members); Federal Administrative Court; Federal Finance Court; Federal Labor Court; Federal Social Court; each of the 16 federal states or Länder has its own constitutional court and a hierarchy of ordinary (civil, criminal, family) and specialized (administrative, financial, labor, social) courts; two English-speaking commercial courts were opened at the end of 2020 in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg: the English-speaking commercial court in Stuttgart and the English-speaking commercial court in Mannheim
RELIGIONS
Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 23.7%, Muslim 3.6%, other 4.8%, none 41.9% (estimate 2021)
From the country
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany said that differences with the US over the...
Germany said that differences with the US over the death penalty would probably prevent it providing evidence to Washington in the case of Ramzi Binalshibh, the al-Qaeda suspect arrested on September 11 in Pakistan
- JUNE 21, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A young German woman was sentenced to five years in...
A young German woman was sentenced to five years in a Singapore jail after pleading guilty to three drug charges
- MAY 25, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
German officials are negotiating with the Turkish government...
German officials are negotiating with the Turkish government to extradite a Turk who is serving a four-year sentence in Germany for operating a terrorist organisation and calling for the murder of a rival, the German interior minister said
- MAY 11, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Bundestag [lower house] President Wolfgang Thierse...
Bundestag [lower house] President Wolfgang Thierse (Social Democratic Party of Germany) warned against ignoring human rights standards in prosecuting terrorists
- MAY 3, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention...
Germany signed Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which ensures the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
- APRIL 25, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution...
Germany was a cosponsor and voted for the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 9, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin (Social...
German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin (Social Democratic Party of Germany) vehemently rejected criticism of the government's human rights policy towards China
- APRIL 8, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Prior to the state visit by China's President Jiang...
Prior to the state visit by China's President Jiang Zemin, Greens leader Claudia Roth clearly criticized the human rights situation in China
- APRIL 8, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Several hundred supporters of the meditation movement...
Several hundred supporters of the meditation movement Falun Gong protested against Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to Germany in Berlin
- MARCH 28, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A 22-year-old German woman escaped the gallows after...
A 22-year-old German woman escaped the gallows after a Singapore court reduced the drug trafficking charge against her
- MARCH 15, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
A 23-year-old German student faces the death penalty...
A 23-year-old German student faces the death penalty after Singapore charged her with trafficking controlled drugs in the city state
- JANUARY 13, 2002GermanyDEATH PENALTY
Germany has issued international arrest warrants for...
Germany has issued international arrest warrants for three alleged accomplices of the September 11 hijackers