Working visit on the conduct of court proceedings

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Published: November 14, 2024

A group of judges from Montenegro took part in a comprehensive specialist programme in Bonn from 27 October to 1 November 2024, which was organized by IRZ together with the Montenegrin Center for the Training of Judges and Public Prosecutors.

During the visit, the participants attended an extensive hearing in a murder trial before the jury court, as well as several civil proceedings on current legal disputes (claims arising from mask deliveries at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, data protection on the internet). The program was rounded off by lectures and expert discussions on criminal and civil proceedings and on legal education in Germany.

The participants found the conduct of proceedings by German judges to be very effective and constructive and praised the objective way in which the legal professionals involved in a case deal with each other. At the same time, they pointed out that it is difficult for judges in Montenegro to hold open discussions about the prospects of a case. This is often seen as a sign of prejudice. In this context, the participants discussed the job description and the tasks of judges, as well as questions of how to conduct a trial effectively.

IRZ also provided the participants with extensive translations of German legal texts and publications in Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian in electronic form, which were compiled as part of other IRZ measures. These included the German Code of Criminal Procedure and the German Penal Code, as well as a translation of the German Law on Judicial Officers, produced in cooperation with the Association of German Judicial Officers, and specialist literature on the official evaluation of judges.