Details

Judges from the Jordanian Constitutional Court and Court of Cassation on a study trip to Strasbourg and Karlsruhe

Published: October 31, 2018

From 8 to 12 October 2018 the IRZ received a Jordanian delegation in Karlsruhe and Strasbourg to shed light on “The position of the Constitutional Court within the jurisdiction" and "The cooperation between the highest court of appeal and the courts of lower instances“. The delegation was made up of judges from the Jordanian Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation and was led by Mansour Hadidi, Vice-President of the Jordanian Constitutional Court. During their three-day study trip, they visited several courts of different instances.

To begin their visit, the delegation visited the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. There, the participants were received by the ECHR Vice-President, Prof. Angelika Nußberger, who outlined the ECHR’s competences as opposed to those of the courts of the individual Member States of the European Union.

On their second working day, the Jordanian guests visited the Constitutional Court of Baden-Wuerttemberg where they had expert discussions with Court President Dr. Malte Graßhof. During their discussions, the Jordanian participants learnt about the tasks of a Regional Constitutional Court in the Federal Republic of Germany. The information was illustrated using various practical examples which were discussed in depth with the Jordanian colleagues.

The study trip ended on the third day with a visit to the Federal Constitutional Court and the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. At the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Constitutional Court Judge Prof. Dr. Gabriele Britz and the former Federal Constitutional Court Judge Prof. Dr. Michael Eichberger exchanged their views with their Jordanian guests before the latter visited the Federal Court of Justice in the afternoon. The judges at the Federal Court of Justice, Dr. Ralph Bünger (Eighth Civil Panel), and Dr. Louisa Bartel (Second Criminal Panel), explained the structure and competences of the Federal Court of Justice. The visit was rounded off by a tour of the court premises.

The focus in all discussions was on the different competences and tasks of a constitutional court and a court of cassation. Both the German and Jordanian structures were intensely discussed, covering organisational and structural aspects of the different courts and also aspects as regards contents, and relating them to each other. The Jordanian judges gained a comprehensive insight into the German and European jurisdiction during the expert discussions with their German colleagues.

The study trip was organised as part of a judicial training project in Jordan running from 2017 to 2019 which is funded by the Federal Foreign Office.